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Updated: Aug 13, 2025

Merging Ion Concentration Polarization between Juxtaposed Ion Exchange Membranes to Block the Propagation of the Polarization Zone
Published on: February 23, 2017
Combined Separator Based on a Porous Ion-Exchange Membrane for Zinc-Halide Batteries
Alexey Y Rychagov1, Yury M Volfkovich1, Valentin E Sosenkin1
1A.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.
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