High-Power-Density Thermoelectrochemical Cell Based on Ni/NiO Nanostructured Microsphere Electrodes with Alkaline Electrolyte

Denis Artyukhov; Nikolay Kiselev; Elena Boychenko; Aleksandra Asmolova; Denis Zheleznov; Ivan Artyukhov; Igor Burmistrov; Nikolay Gorshkov

doi:10.3390/nano13162290

High-Power-Density Thermoelectrochemical Cell Based on Ni/NiO Nanostructured Microsphere Electrodes with Alkaline Electrolyte

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2023 Aug 9;13(16):2290. doi: 10.3390/nano13162290.

Authors

Denis Artyukhov^{1

2}, Nikolay Kiselev^{3

4}, Elena Boychenko^{3

4

5}, Aleksandra Asmolova², Denis Zheleznov², Ivan Artyukhov¹, Igor Burmistrov^{3

4}, Nikolay Gorshkov²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Power and Electrical Engineering, Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov, 77 Polytecnicheskaya Street, 410054 Saratov, Russia.
² Department of Chemistry and Technology of Materials, Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov, 77 Polytecnicheskaya Street, 410054 Saratov, Russia.
³ Engineering Center, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, 36 Stremyanny Pereulok, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
⁴ Department of Functional Nanosystems and High Temperature Materials, National University of Science and Technology MISIS, 4 Leninskiy Prospect, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
⁵ N.N. Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics RAS, Kosygina Street, 4, 119991 Moscow, Russia.

Abstract

Effective low-grade waste heat harvesting and its conversion into electric energy by the means of thermoelectrochemical cells (TECs) are a strong theme in the field of renewable energy investigation. Despite considerable scientific research, TECs have not yet been practically applied due to the high cost of electrode materials and low effectiveness levels. A large hypothetical Seebeck coefficient allow the harvest of the low-grade waste heat and, particularly, to use TECs for collecting human body heat. This paper demonstrates the investigation of estimated hypothetical Seebeck coefficient dependency on KOH electrolyte concentration for TECs with hollow nanostructured Ni/NiO microsphere electrodes. It proposes a thermoelectrochemical cell with power density of 1.72 W·m^-2 and describes the chemistry of electrodes and near-electrode space. Also, the paper demonstrates a decrease in charge transfer resistance from 3.5 to 0.52 Ω and a decrease in capacitive behavior with increasing electrolyte concentration due to diffusion effects.

Keywords: hypothetical Seebeck coefficient; impedance spectroscopy; nanostructured nickel hollow microspheres; thermoelectrochemical cell; waste heat harvesting.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.