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Research Article

Elevating kinetics of passivated Fe anodes with NH4Cl regulator: Toward low-cost, long-cyclic and green cathode-free Fe-ion aqueous batteries

Shibo Chai1, Jianhui Zhu1(), Jian Jiang2(), Chang Ming Li2,3()
School of Physical Science and Technology, Southwest University, No.2 Tiansheng Road, BeiBei District, Chongqing 400715, China
School of Materials and Energy, and Chongqing Key Lab for Advanced Materials and Clean Energies of Technologies, Southwest University, No.2 Tiansheng Road, BeiBei District, Chongqing 400715, China
Key Laboratory of Laser Technology and Optoelectronic Functional Materials of Hainan Province, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Photoelectrochemistry of Haikou, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
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Unique cathode-free Fe-ion batteries made of highly puffed nano carbon foams and NH4Cl-regulated FeSO4 electrolyte hold great promise as low-cost, long-cyclic and environmental-benign energy storage devices in grid-scale applications.

Abstract

The environment benignity and battery cost are major concerns for grid-scale energy storage applications. The emerging dendrite-free Fe-ion aqueous batteries are promising due to the rich natural abundance, low cost and non-toxicity for Fe resources. However, serious passivation reactions on Fe anodes and poor long-term cyclability for matched cathodes still stand in the way for their practical usage. To settle above constraints, we herein use NH4Cl as the electrolyte regulator to elevate the reaction kinetics of passivated Fe anodes, and also propose a special cathode-free design to prolong the cells lifetime over 1,000 cycles. The added NH4Cl can erode/break inert passivation layers and strengthen the ion conductivity of electrolytes, facilitating the reversible Fe plating/ stripping and Fe2+ shuttling. The highly puffed nano carbon foams function as current collectors and actives anchoring hosts, enabling expedite Fe2+ adsorption/desorption, FeII/FeIII redox conversions and FeIII deposition. The configured rocking-chair Fe-ion cells have good environmental benignity and decent energy-storage behaviors, including high reactivity/reversibility, outstanding cyclic stability and far enhanced operation longevity. Such economical, long-cyclic and green cathode-free Fe-ion batteries may hold great potential in near-future energy-storage power stations.

Keywords

elevated kineticspassivated Fe anodesNH4Cl regulator cathode-free designFe-ion batteries

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Nano Research
Volume 15 Issue 4,
April 2022
Pages 3187-3194
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-021-3911-0
Cite this article:
Chai S, Zhu J, Jiang J, et al. Elevating kinetics of passivated Fe anodes with NH4Cl regulator: Toward low-cost, long-cyclic and green cathode-free Fe-ion aqueous batteries. Nano Research, 2022, 15(4): 3187-3194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3911-0
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