Liquid Metal Electrodes for Electrochemical Energy Storage Technologies

Authors

Hao-miao LI, 1. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China;
Hao ZHOU, 2. School of Materials Science and Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China;
Kang-li WANG, 1. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China;
Kai JIANG, 1. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China;Follow

Corresponding Author

Kai JIANG(kjiang@hust.edu.cn)

Abstract

Electrochemical energy storage technologies (ESTs) with low cost, long lifespan and high safety are of great importance for efficient integration of renewable energy into the grid. Liquid metal electrodes (LMEs) possessing the merits of high electronic conductivity, easy manufacture and amorphous structure is of great application value in the field of energy storage batteries. During charge-discharge processing, the LMEs could avoid the issues of structural deformation and dendrite growth in solid metal electrodes, which could effectively extend the cycle life of the LME based batteries. Moreover, LME based batteries are easy to be scaled up and less expensive, which are well-positioned to satisfy the demands of grid-scale energy storage. In this paper, the state-of-the-art overview of LMEs in batteries including liquid metal batteries (LMBs), sodium-sulfur (Na||S) and ZEBRA (Na||NiCl₂) batteries is presented. The materials systems, reaction mechanisms and novel designing in LMBs are emphatically discussed. Besides the LMEs, the developments of the molten salts electrolytes and solid state electrolytes, and the multi-field coupled flows inside LMBs are summarized. The challenges for the applications of LMEs in the batteries, such as high temperature sealing and corrosion, are discussed. Finally, the prospects of the application of LMEs in the field of the ESTs are also described.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

electrochemical energy storage, liquid metal electrodes, liquid metal batteries, Na, S batteries, ZEBRA batteries

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.200652

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Date

2020-10-28

Online Available Date

2020-08-20

Revised Date

2020-08-07

Received Date

2020-07-16

Recommended Citation

Hao-miao LI, Hao ZHOU, Kang-li WANG, Kai JIANG. Liquid Metal Electrodes for Electrochemical Energy Storage Technologies[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2020 , 26(5): 663-682.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.200652
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol26/iss5/5