Recent progress on carbon and metal based electrocatalysts for vanadium redox flow battery

Attractive features of vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) such as long durability, easy scalability, and low levelized cost of energy have influenced its prominence in the sectors where renewable energy is to be stored at a large scale. However, viability of VRFB to be used for a wide-range of applications such as household electrification, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and so on has been limited by its low power density. In principle, the power density of VRFB is dependent upon rate of electrochemical reaction on the electrode. The electrochemical properties of the electrode can be improved either by pretreatment of the electrode or by depositing electrocatalyst on the electrode. The use of electrocatalyst helps to lower overpotential losses and reduces the charge-transfer resistance, which results the VRFB to operate at higher current densities. This review discusses the development and progress of carbon and metal-based electrocatalyst that have been used for VRFB applications. This article is categorized under: Fuel Cells and Hydrogen > Science and Materials Energy Efficiency > Science and Materials Energy and Development > Science and Materials