Combined Separator Based on a Porous Ion-Exchange Membrane for Zinc-Halide Batteries

Alexey Y Rychagov; Yury M Volfkovich; Valentin E Sosenkin; Alexsandr F Seliverstov; Marianna Y Izmailova

doi:10.3390/membranes13010067

Combined Separator Based on a Porous Ion-Exchange Membrane for Zinc-Halide Batteries

Membranes (Basel). 2023 Jan 5;13(1):67. doi: 10.3390/membranes13010067.

Authors

Alexey Y Rychagov¹, Yury M Volfkovich¹, Valentin E Sosenkin¹, Alexsandr F Seliverstov¹, Marianna Y Izmailova¹

Affiliation

¹ A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 31, 119071 Moscow, Russia.

Abstract

In this work, we report on a comparative analysis of the bromine permeability for three separator groups under the operating conditions of a non-flow zinc-bromine battery. A new method for the synthesis of porous heterogeneous membranes based on a cation-exchange resin followed by treatment with tetrabutylammonium bromide is proposed. It was shown that the modified membrane significantly reduced the bromine permeability (crossover) with an acceptable increase in the ionic conductivity of the separator group. Leakage currents not exceeding 10-20 µA/cm² were achieved, and the Coulomb efficiency was over 90%. The ionic conductivity (at AC) of a membrane soaked with water was compared for different pretreatment conditions. The frequency dependence of the membrane resistance is shown. The features of the conduction mechanism of the modified membrane are discussed.

Keywords: asymmetrical conduction; bromine crossover; combined membrane; self-discharge; zinc-bromine battery.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in the frame of state tasks (state registration Nos. AAAA-A19-119061890019-5, 0089-2019-0012, and AAAA-A19-119041890032-6).