Nano carbon/fluoroelastomer composite bipolar plate for a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB)

The energy storage system (ESS) is widely investigated because it can solve various energy-related problems without additional power plants. Among the ESSs, a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is one of the most promising technologies due to its scalability without explosiveness. The bipolar plate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Composite structures 2017-01, Vol.159, p.220-227
Main Authors: Nam, Soohyun, Lee, Dongyoung, Lee, Dai Gil, Kim, Jinwhan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bipolar plate
Carbon
Composite structures
Electrical conductivity
Fluoroelastomer composite
Fluoropolymers
Mechanical properties
Nanostructure
Plates (structural members)
Rechargeable batteries
Soft-layer method
Vanadium
Vanadium redox flow battery
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Summary:The energy storage system (ESS) is widely investigated because it can solve various energy-related problems without additional power plants. Among the ESSs, a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is one of the most promising technologies due to its scalability without explosiveness. The bipolar plate is a multifunctional component that provides an electrical path and separates cells. A bipolar plate should simultaneously have low electrical resistance, high mechanical properties and chemical durability. In this study, a nano carbon/fluoroelastomer composite bipolar plate was developed to substitute for the conventional thick graphite bipolar plate. The ‘soft-layer method’ was adopted to expose the carbon fibers on the surface of the composite to increase its electrical conductivity. The solution casting method was applied to fabricate the high fiber volume fraction composite structure with a dispersion of carbon black. The performance of the carbon/fluoroelastomer composite bipolar plate was evaluated by testing the permeability, mechanical properties, and electrical properties. Finally, unit-cell charge/discharge tests were conducted to verify the performance of the composite bipolar plate.
ISSN:0263-8223
1879-1085
DOI:10.1016/j.compstruct.2016.09.063