Metallic Porous Electrodes for Flow Cells

Leveraging our group's expertise in fabrications based on selective dissolution, we attempt to bridge the gap between commercial metallic foam, highly permeable but low in the specific area, and nanoporous metals, which are not widely applied as electrodes in flow cells for the perceived low permeability. By controlling the porosity, the pore orientation, the pore size, and the hierarchy, we reveal the impacts of these structural characteristics on common electrode properties such as the surface area, the effective diffusivity, and the hydraulic permeability. We further demonstrate the use of oriented and hierarchical nanoporous metals as efficient and catalytic electrodes in redox flow batteries and electrolyzers.<br/><br/>References:<br/>Li, Y. et al. Homogenizing Zn Deposition in Hierarchical Nanoporous Cu for a High Current, High Areal Capacity Zn Flow Battery. <i>Small</i> <b>2023</b>, 2303005.<br/>Chen, Q. Bicontinuous Nanoporous Metals with Self-Organized Functionalities. <i>Chem. Mater.</i> <b>2022</b>, 34, 10237–10248.<br/>Wang, C.; Chen, Q. Elucidating the Kinetic Root of the Evolution of the Oriented Nanoporous Metal from Reduction-Induced Decomposition. <i>Chem. Mater.</i> <b>2021</b>, <i>33</i>, 2604–2610.