(470f) Understanding Fluid Structure and Properties of Concentrated Hydrogen Bonded Electrolytes (CoHBEs) and Their Interaction in a Flow Battery

The increase of adding intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind to the electricity grid requires a commensurate need for large scale energy storage. Flow batteries are the most likely electrochemical storage technology to meet this need because of its ability to decouple power load from energy storage capacity. Breakthrough Electrolytes of Energy Storage and Systems (BEES2) – a Department of Energy Frontiers Research Center (EFRC) led by Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is developing heterogeneous electrolytes for the next generation of redox flow batteries, in particular concentrated hydrogen bonded electrolytes (CoHBEs) and microemulsions. The scientific mission of BEES2 is to uncover transport mechanisms of ions, protons, redox species, and electrons in these nano-to-meso scale structured electrolytes in the bulk and at the electrode-electrolyte interface. In this talk, we will present the current understanding of how structure controls solvation dynamics, transport, potential-dependent surface behavior, and electron transfer kinetics in particular for CoHBEs, and further discuss how this understanding guides designing of molecular structures and engineering of flow cells. In relation to the latter, we developed active learning approaches and high throughput experimentation to advance these research efforts. This presentation will highlight some of the recent work from BEES2 EFRC.