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Ultrafast Anion-Hopping Conduction in Organic Solvent via Imidazolium-Grafted Dynamic Ion-Conducting Spacers for
Pengzhu Gai1, Hangyuan Wang1, Qiang Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China.
Abstract:
Non-aqueous flow batteries (NAFBs) require membranes with superior organic solvent resistance and high ionic conductivity in organic solvents to endure the corrosive effects inherent in non-aqueous electrolytes. Herein, we designed a highly organic-solvent-resistant imidazolium-grafted anion-exchange membrane (AEM) for NAFBs, realizing rapid anion hopping conduction in organic solvents. The membrane exhibited an ultrafast ionic conductivity as high as 2.1 mS cm-1 in DMF-based electrolyte which was much greater than that of the commercial Celgard membrane (only 0.45 mS·cm-1), coupled with exceptional barrier properties evidenced by ultralow active-species permeability values of 1.6 × 10-8 cm2 s-1 for 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole anolyte and 3.8 × 10-9 cm2 s-1 for 10-methylphenothiazine catholyte, respectively. Moreover, the membrane demonstrated outstanding stability in aggressive organic solvent, achieving an average energy efficiency (EE) over 66.1% for over 330 cycles at 5 mA cm-2 in a NAFB cell test, which far exceeded the commercial Celgard membrane (with only 70 cycles with an average EE of 48.8%). This research presents a strategic advance in next-generation membrane design for NAFBs with exceptional organic solvent resistance and high ionic conductivity.
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