Hydrogen-based battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021399327-A1
Application number	US-201917290064-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 29, 2019
Priority date	Oct 29, 2018
Publication date	Dec 23, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed herein are batteries and methods of making batteries. The batteries disclosed herein generally comprise a cathode, an electrolyte capable of conducting protons and/or hydronium ions, and an anode comprising a material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions, wherein (i) the cathode is in contact with a cathode substance, or (ii) the electrolyte comprises a reduced cathode substance, or (iii) the cathode is in contact with a cathode substance and the electrolyte comprises a reduced cathode substance, and wherein the cathode substance is an oxide of one or more metals or an oxide of a halide.

First claim

1 . A battery comprising:
a cathode, an electrolyte capable of conducting protons and/or hydronium ions; and an anode comprising a material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions;
wherein:
(i) the cathode is in contact with a cathode substance; or
(ii) the electrolyte comprises a reduced cathode substance; or
(iii) the cathode is in contact with a cathode substance and the electrolyte comprises a reduced cathode substance,

and wherein:
the cathode substance is an oxide of one or more metals or an oxide of a halide.

2 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the cathode substance is an oxide of Mn, Pb, Bi, Cr, V, Cl, Br or I.

3 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein
the cathode substance is MnO 2 and the reduced cathode substance is Mn 2+ ; or the cathode substance is MnO 4 − and the reduced cathode substance is MnO 2 ; or the cathode substance is PbO 2 and the reduced cathode substance is Pb 2+ ; or the cathode substance is Bi 2 O 4 and the reduced cathode substance is BiO + ; or the cathode substance is Cr 2 O 7 2− and the reduced cathode substance is Cr 3+ ; or the cathode substance is VO 2 + and the reduced cathode substance is VO 2+ ; or the cathode substance is ClO 4 − and the reduced cathode substance is ClO 3 − ; or the cathode substance is BrO 3 − and the reduced cathode substance is Br 2 ; or the cathode substance is IO 3 − and the reduced cathode substance is I 2 .

4 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the cathode substance is MnO 2 and the reduced cathode substance is Mn 2+ .

5 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions is selected from N,N-dioctyl-3,4,9,10-perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI), perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA), terephthalic acid (PTA), anthraquinone (AQ) and pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone (PTO).

6 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the cathode comprises a current collector selected from carbon cloth, carbon fiber paper, carbon felt and a combination thereof.

7 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the anode comprises one or more of carbon cloth, carbon fiber paper, carbon felt, titanium foil and titanium mesh in contact with the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions.

8 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the battery comprises a separator selected from nafion polymer membrane, glass fiber membrane, filter paper and a celgard membrane.

9 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions is or comprises MoO 3 .

10 . The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions is or comprises MoO 3 nanofibers.

11 . A method of making a battery, the method comprising contacting an electrolyte with an anode and a cathode, wherein:
the electrolyte is capable of conducting protons and/or hydronium ions and comprises (a) protons and/or hydronium ions and (b) a reduced cathode substance, the reduced cathode substance having a conjugate redox pair which is a cathode substance being an oxide of one or more metals or an oxide of a halide; and the anode comprises a material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions.

12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises a step of depositing the cathode substance on the cathode.

13 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the method comprises associating protons and/or hydronium ions with the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions.

14 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the anode comprises an electrically conductive substrate in contact with the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions, wherein the material is brought into contact with the substrate by airbrushing a fluid containing the material onto the substrate.

15 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein the fluid containing the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions comprises the material, a binder and a solvent.

16 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the binder is selected from the group consisting of nafion, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PVDF), carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC), sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) and combinations thereof.

17 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the solvent is 2-propanol.

18 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the fluid containing the material further comprises an additive selected from acetylene black, XC-72R and a combination thereof.

19 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein the fluid containing the material is in the form of a slurry.

20 . (canceled)

21 . (canceled)

22 . A method of splitting water without the evolution of gaseous hydrogen or gaseous oxygen, the method comprising:
1) contacting an electrolyte comprising a reduced cathode substance capable of oxidation to form a cathode substance with (a) an anode comprising a material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions and (b) a cathode, and 2) applying a voltage across the anode and cathode to thereby oxidise the reduced cathode substance, forming a cathode substance and H + , the H + forming a hydronium ion that associates with the material capable of absorbing protons and/or hydronium ions,
wherein the cathode substance is an oxide of one or more metals or an oxide of a halide.

23 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Newsouth Innovations Pty Ltd

Inventors

• Zhao Chuan
• Guo Haocheng
• Zeng Yachao
• Ren Wenhao
• Su Zhen
• Peng Xuancheng

Classifications

• H01M4/96

  Carbon-based electrodes · CPC title

• H01M4/94

  Non-porous diffusion electrodes, e.g. palladium membranes, ion exchange membranes · CPC title

• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title

• H01M4/50

  of manganese · CPC title

• H01M12/08

  composed of a half-cell of a fuel-cell type and a half-cell of the secondary-cell type · CPC title