(297a) Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage (BEES)

Discovery of new electrolytes is needed for advancing the fundamental science and enabling new opportunities in electrochemical systems including redox flow batteries, electrochemical capacitors, electrocatalysis, electrodeposition, separations and sensors. Specifically, by designing new electrolytes with higher concentrations of electrochemically active species, lack of flammability and ease of control over transport properties, substantial improvements will be realized in (i) energy and power density, (ii) safety and reductions in environmental impact, and (iii) cost of energy storage systems. The Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage (BEES) EFRC was established in August of 2018 as new Basic Energy Science center. The research scope of BEES is: To develop an understanding of (i) structure-property relationships, (ii) transport mechanisms, (iii) interfacial electrode-electrolyte structure and its evolution, (iv) electron and ion transfer reactions in deep eutectic solvents (DES) and soft nanoparticles (SNP), and (v) how these structures and properties can be tailored at the atomistic level to advance electrochemical performance in electrochemical energy storage systems.

In this presentation I will describe the basis for the two research thrusts of BEES, the hypothesis being pursued, and the approaches being taken to study these systems.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported as part of the Breakthrough Electrolytes for Energy Storage (BEES), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under Award # DE-SC0019409.