Pore-filled anion-exchange membranes for non-aqueous redox flow batteries with dual-metal-complex redox shuttles

Pore-filled anion-exchange membranes (PFAEMs) were synthesized using thin porous polymer substrates for non-aqueous redox flow battery (RFB) applications. The PFAEMs which have a thickness of about 25 pm exhibited high ion conductivity and selectivity in both aqueous and non-aqueous media. In addition, they showed excellent mechanical properties as well as dimensional stability in a nonaqueous environment The non-aqueous RFB experiments utilizing novel Fe/Ni dual-metal complex redox electrolyte resulted in the respectable energy efficiencies (i.e. 87.3% and 772% in non-flowing and flowing cells, respectively) much higher than those of previous papers where other non-aqueous redox electrolytes were used. The PFAEMs showed much better ion selectivity in non-aqueous medium compared to that of the commercial membrane due to the relatively low swellability. The results demonstrated that the charge-discharge performances were largely enhanced by the mitigated crossover of metal complex as well as the low mass transport resistance through the membrane. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved,