Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRB) are an economical, low vulnerability way to store large amounts of energy, and are incredibly versatile due to modular power and capacity. That is, the power is set by the cell stack size, and the capacity by the volume of electrolyte. Obtaining an ideal ionomer for this application has proven challenging as the ideal membrane requires high proton conductivity, high chemical stability, a low vanadium ion permeability, and low electric area resistivity. Functionalized polysulfones have therefore received much attention due to high chemical and thermal stability, good mechanical properties, and low molecular permeability. In this study, polysulfone based diblock copolymers were synthesized with various ion exchange capacities and block lengths. Materials underwent thorough electrochemical, liquid transport, and morphological characterization as well as testing in a single cell vanadium redox flow battery. As is typical of anion exchange membranes, the materials display low voltage efficiencies due to high mass transfer resistances. However high coulombic efficiencies and excellent membrane property tune-ability give these materials great potential in flow battery applications.

Selective block polysulfone anion exchange membranes: Electro-transport characterization and performance in vanadium redox flow batteries

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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