Low cost air electrodes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020411879-A1
Application number	US-202016913958-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 26, 2020
Priority date	Jun 28, 2019
Publication date	Dec 31, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems and methods of the various embodiments may provide low cost bifunctional air electrodes. Various embodiments may provide a bifunctional air electrode, including a metal substrate and particles of metal and/or metal oxide catalyst and/or metal nitride catalyst coated on the metal substrate. Various embodiments may provide a bifunctional air electrode, including a first portion configured to engage an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in a discharge mode and a second portion configured to engage an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in a charge mode. Various embodiments may provide a method for making an air electrode including coating a metal substrate with particles of metal and/or metal oxide catalyst and/or metal nitride catalyst. Various embodiments may provide batteries including air electrodes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A bifunctional air electrode, comprising:
a metal substrate; and particles deposited on the metal substrate, wherein the particles comprise particles of metal oxide catalyst, particles of metal nitride catalyst, or a combination thereof.

2 . The electrode of claim 1 , wherein the metal substrate is a mesh, a foam, or a porous sintered solid.

3 . The electrode of claim 1 , wherein the metal substrate comprises iron, nickel, an iron-alloy, copper, aluminum, steel, or any combination thereof.

4 . The electrode of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the particles of metal oxide catalyst and the particles of metal nitride catalyst comprise manganese oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, nickel oxide, nickel oxyhydroxide, iron oxide, iron oxyhydroxide, cobalt oxide, manganese cobalt oxide, cobalt manganese oxide, nickel manganese oxide, manganese iron oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, manganese cobalt iron oxide, zinc cobalt manganese oxide, cobalt nickel oxide, calcium manganese oxide, lanthanum manganese oxide, lanthanum cobalt oxide, lanthanum nickel oxide, lanthanum calcium aluminum manganese oxide, nickel iron oxide, manganese ferrite, zinc ferrite, nickel cobaltite, lanthanum strontium manganate, a transition metal oxide, a metal nitrides, Fe 3 C, or any combinations thereof.

5 . The electrode of claim 4 , wherein the metal substrate comprises nickel rich iron alloy.

6 . The electrode of claim 5 , further comprising particles of metal deposited on the metal substrate.

7 . The electrode of claim 6 , wherein the particles of metal comprise iron, nickel, steel, or combinations thereof.

8 . The electrode of claim 1 , further comprising particles of metal deposited on the metal substrate.

9 . The electrode of claim 8 , wherein:
the metal substrate comprises iron, nickel, or combinations thereof; the particles of metal comprise iron, nickel, or combinations thereof; and the particles of metal oxide catalyst comprise manganese oxide.

10 . The electrode of claim 8 , wherein:
the metal substrate comprises steel; the particles of metal comprise iron, nickel, or combinations thereof; and the particles of metal oxide catalyst comprise manganese oxide.

11 . The electrode of claim 1 , wherein the metal substrate comprises a metal powder.

12 . The electrode of claim 11 , wherein the metal powder comprises nickel powder, nickel coated stainless steel powder, nickel coated carbon steel powder, cobalt powder, cobalt coated stainless steel powder, cobalt coated carbon steel powder, or combinations thereof.

13 . The electrode of claim 11 , wherein the metal powder includes binder materials therein.

14 . The electrode of claim 13 , wherein the binder materials comprise polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or combinations thereof.

15 . A bifunctional air electrode, comprising:
a first portion configured to engage an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in a discharge mode; and a second portion configured to engage an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in a charge mode.

16 . The electrode of claim 15 , wherein:
the first portion comprises an ORR electrode and an ORR catalyst; and the second portion comprises an OER electrode and an OER catalyst.

17 . The electrode of claim 16 , wherein:
the ORR electrode comprises carbon cloth, carbon felt, carbon paper, or a gas diffusion layer; and the OER electrode comprises nickel, iron, stainless steel, or carbon steel.

18 . The electrode of claim 17 , wherein the ORR catalyst comprises silver, palladium, platinum, manganese oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, nickel oxide, nickel oxyhydroxide, iron oxide, iron oxyhydroxide, cobalt oxide, manganese cobalt oxide, cobalt manganese oxide, nickel manganese oxide, manganese iron oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, manganese cobalt iron oxide, zinc cobalt manganese oxide, cobalt nickel oxide, calcium manganese oxide, lanthanum manganese oxide, lanthanum cobalt oxide, lanthanum nickel oxide, lanthanum calcium aluminum manganese oxide, nickel iron oxide, manganese ferrite, zinc ferrite, nickel cobaltite, lanthanum strontium manganate, Fe 3 N, FeCN, ZrN, Mn 4 N, Fe 3 C, or any combinations thereof.

19 . The electrode of claim 17 , wherein the OER catalyst comprises metallic nickel, metallic iron, manganese oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, nickel oxide, nickel oxyhydroxide, iron oxide, iron oxyhydroxide, cobalt oxide, manganese cobalt oxide, cobalt manganese oxide, nickel manganese oxide, manganese iron oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, manganese cobalt iron oxide, zinc cobalt manganese oxide, cobalt nickel oxide, calcium manganese oxide, lanthanum manganese oxide, lanthanum cobalt oxide, lanthanum nickel oxide, lanthanum calcium aluminum manganese oxide, nickel iron oxide, manganese ferrite, zinc ferrite, nickel cobaltite, lanthanum strontium manganate, Fe 3 N, FeCN, ZrN, Mn 4 N, Fe 3 C, or any combinations thereof.

20 . The electrode of claim 16 , wherein one or both of the ORR electrode and the OER electrode comprises a mesh, a foam, or a porous sintered solid.

21 . The electrode of claim 15 , further comprising a hydrophobic coating on one or both of either of the first portion and the second portion.

22 . The electrode of claim 21 , wherein the hydrophobic coating comprises polyethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, polytetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene, or a combination thereof.

23 . The electrode of claim 16 , wherein the ORR electrode comprises a carbon substrate coated with a manganese oxide catalyst.

24 . The electrode of claim 23 , wherein the carbon substrate comprises a carbon cloth, a carbon felt, a carbon paper, or a gas diffusion layer.

25 . The electrode of claim 16 , wherein the OER electrode comprises a metal substrate.

26 . The electrode of claim 25 , wherein the metal substrate comprises titanium, nickel, iron, stainless steel, carbon steel, or combinations thereof.

27 . The electrode of claim 26 , wherein the metal substrate is coated with catalyst comprising silver, palladium, platinum, manganese oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, nickel oxide, nickel oxyhydroxide, iron oxide, iron oxyhydroxide, cobalt oxide, manganese cobalt oxide, cobalt manganese oxide, nickel manganese oxide, manganese iron oxide, nickel-doped manganese oxide, manganese cobalt iron oxide, zinc cobalt manganese oxide, cobalt nickel oxide, calcium manganese oxide, lanthanum manganese oxide, lanthanum cobalt oxide, lanthanum nickel oxide, lanthanum calcium aluminum manganese oxide, nickel iron oxide, manganese ferrite, zinc ferrite, nickel cobaltite, lanthanum strontium manganate, Fe 3 N, FeCN, ZrN, Mn 4 N, or any combinations thereof.

28 . The electrode of claim 26 , wherein the metal substrate comprises direct reduced iron (DRI), atomized iron powder, sponge iron, or combinations thereof.

29 . The electrode of claim 26 , wherein the metal substrate comprises a mesh, a foam, a sintered porous structure, or a packed bed of metal particles.

30 . The electrode of claim 26 , where the metal substrate comprises a packed bed of particles comprising direct reduced iron (DRI), sponge iron, or combinations thereof.

31 . The electrode of claim 26 , wherein the metal substrate is in the form of a

Assignees

• Form Energy Inc

Inventors

• Hartman Katherine
• Carlisle Kristen
• Milshtein Jarrod David
• Su Liang
• Chakraborty Rupak
• Chiang Yet-Ming
• Jaramillo Thomas
• Woodford William Henry
• Ferrara Marco
• Jaramillo Mateo Cristian
• Wiley Theodore Alan
• Ruoff Erick
• Perkins Nicholas Reed
• Goulet Marc-Antoni
• Newhouse Joycelyn
• Liotta Andrew Haynes
• Mileson Bradley
• Gibson Michael Andrew
• Weber Eric
• Thompson Annelise Christine

Classifications

• C25B11/071

  comprising metal or alloy powder and non-metallic binders · CPC title

• C25B11/077

  the compound being a non-noble metal oxide · CPC title

• C25B11/061

  Metal or alloy · CPC title

• H01M12/06 Primary

  with one metallic and one gaseous electrode · CPC title

• H01M4/9041

  Metals or alloys (H01M4/92 takes precedence) · CPC title