Composite Polybenzimidazole Membrane with High Capacity Retention for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

Abstract

Currently, energy storage technologies are becoming essential in the transition of replacing fossil fuels with more renewable electricity production means. Among storage technologies, redox flow batteries (RFBs) can represent a valid option due to their unique characteristic of decoupling energy storage from power output. To push RFBs further into the market, it is essential to include low-cost materials such as new generation membranes with low ohmic resistance, high transport selectivity, and long durability. This work proposes a composite membrane for vanadium RFBs and a method of preparation. The membrane was prepared starting from two polymers, meta-polybenzimidazole (6 μm) and porous polypropylene (30 μm), through a gluing approach by hot-pressing. In a vanadium RFB, the composite membrane exhibited a high energy efficiency (~84%) and discharge capacity (~90%) with a 99% capacity retention over 90 cycles at 120 mA·cm−2, exceeding commercial Nafion® NR212 (~82% efficiency, capacity drop from 90% to 40%) and Fumasep® FAP-450 (~76% efficiency, capacity drop from 80 to 65%).

Keywords

• polybenzimidazole
• polypropylene
• skin layer
• support layer
• interlocking interface
• composite asymmetric membrane