Effects of State of Charge on the Physical Characteristics of V(IV)/V(V) Electrolytes and Membrane for the All Vanadium Flow Battery

The VO2+/VO2+ redox couple commonly employed on the positive terminal of the all-vanadium redox flow battery was investigated at various states of charge (SOC) and H2SO4 supporting electrolyte concentrations. Electron paramagnetic resonance was used to investigate the VO2+ concentration and translational and rotational diffusion coefficient (DT, DR) in both bulk solution and Nafion membranes. Values of DT and DR were relatively unaffected by SOC and on the order of 10−10 m2s−1. Cyclic voltammetry measurements revealed that no significant changes to the redox mechanism were observed as the state of charge increased; however, the mechanism does appear to be affected by H2SO4 concentration. Electron transfer rate (k0) increased by an order of magnitude (10−6 ms−1 to 10−8 ms−1) for each H2SO4 concentrations investigated (1, 3 and 5 M). Analysis of cyclic voltammetry switching currents suggests that the technique might be suitable for fast determination of state of charge if the system is well calibrated. Membrane uptake and permeability measurements show that vanadium absorption and crossover is more dependent on both acid and vanadium concentration than state of charge. Vanadium diffusion in the membrane is about an order of magnitude slower (~10−11 m2s−1) than in solution (~10−10 m2s−1).