A protocol is presented to study multi-electron metal/air battery systems by using previous technology developed for the zinc/air cell. Electrochemical testing is then performed on fabricated batteries to evaluate performance.
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Method Article
Fabrication of VB2/Air Cells for Electrochemical Testing
In This Article
Summary
Abstract
A technique to investigate the properties and performance of new multi-electron metal/air battery systems is proposed and presented. A method for synthesizing nanoscopic VB2 is presented as well as step-by-step procedure for applying a zirconium oxide coating to the VB2 particles for stabilization upon discharge. The process for disassembling existing zinc/air cells is shown, in addition construction of the new working electrode to replace the conventional zinc/air cell anode with a the nanoscopic VB2 anode. Finally, discharge of the completed VB2/air battery is reported. We show that using the zinc/air cell as a test bed is useful to provide a consistent configuration to study the performance of the high-energy high capacity nanoscopic VB2 anode.
Introduction
Vanadium diboride as an anode has among the highest volumetric charge capacity of any anode material. This protocol introduces a method for studying this fascinating material. Metallic zinc has been the predominant anode material in aqueous primary systems due to zinc metal's high two-electron volumetric and gravimetric charge storage capacities of 5.8 kAh L-1 and 820 Ah kg-1, respectively.* The zinc-carbon battery, known as the Leclanché cell, was first introduced in the 19th century, combining a zinc anode with a manganese dioxide (carbon current collector) cathode in a chloride electrolyte1. The common a....
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Protocol
1. Preparation Nano-VB2
Nanoscopic VB2 is directly synthesized from elemental vanadium and boron via ball-milling in a 1:2 mole ration.
- Clean a 50 ml tungsten carbide milling jar and ten 10-mm tungsten carbide balls. Dry under air in an oven at 100 °C for 1 hr to ensure all water has evaporated.
- Wipe clean the inside of the milling jar to ensure no residue remains, repeat step 1.1 if residue is visible.
- Purge the antechamber of a glove box with argon 3x for 10 min each time. Transfer the milling jar, balls, and clean spatula into the argon filled glovebox.
- Weigh out vanadiu....
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Results
Electrochemical testing is performed to determine the performance of VB2/air batteries. The results obtained for multiple cells provide evidence for reproducibility of the cell performance. Figure 1 compares the VB2/air batteries during a 3,000 ohm (left) and 1,000 ohm (right) discharge. Note that the discharge voltage, as well as the fraction of the 4,060 Ah kg-1 intrinsic capacity is higher with the nanoscopic VB2 anode compared to the macroscopic VB2
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Discussion
Construction of the VB2/air battery in this way provides the ability to study and probe the eleven electrons per molecule charge transfer that occurs, allowing the possibility for a new high capacity battery. If obtained results do not demonstrate reproducible results, ensure that all of the zinc anode material was removed from the battery, that there is an even dispersion of active material on the cap, and that the cells are properly glued without any leaks. If a problem continues to occur, ensure that the ba.......
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Disclosures
The authors, Chris Rhodes, Ruben Lopez, Xuguang Li, Mahesh Waje, and Matthew Mullings are employees of Lynntech Inc.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation Award 1006568 for funding this project.
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Materials
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| MATERIALS | |||
| Boron | Alfa Aesar | 11337 | |
| Diethyl Ether | J.T. Baker | 9244-06 | 4L |
| Epoxy | Loctite | Heavy Duty 5 min setting time | |
| Isopropyl Alcohol | |||
| Panasonic 675 Zinc/Air cell | Panasonic | PR675H | Made in Japan (not German) |
| C-NERGY Super C65 | Timcal | Graphitic carbon black | |
| Vanadium | Aldrich | 262935 | |
| Vanadium Diboride | American Elements | 12007-37-3 | |
| Zirconium Chloride | Spectrum | Z20001 | |
| EQUIPTMENT | |||
| 50-mL round bottom flask | Fisher Scientific Co LLC | CG151001 | |
| Diagonal cutting pliers | Hardware store | ||
| Hot/stir plate | IKA | C-MAG HS 7 | |
| Glove box | Labconco | Precision Basic | |
| Ten 10-mm tungsten carbide balls | Lab Synergy | 55.0100.08 | |
| Tungsten carbide milling jar | Lab Synergy | 50.8600.00 | |
| Razor blade | Hardware store | ||
| Retsch PM 100 planetary ball mill | Retsch | 205400003 | |
| Stir bar | VWR International | 58947-140 |
References
- Linden, D., Reddy, T. B. Handbook of Batteries. , 4th, McGraw-Hill. New York. (2010).
- Rogulski, Z., Czerwin'ski, A. Cathode Modification in the Leclanche' Cell. Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry. 7, 118-121 (2003).
- Neburchilov, V., Wang, H., Martin, J. J., Qu, W.
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