Energy storage is an indispensable part of future electrical grids as they increasingly shift toward renewable energy sources.¹ Although many other energy storage technologies have shown potential, redox flow batteries are especially promising because of advantages arising from their decoupled power and energy capacity, wide range of possible electroactive materials, wider potential window (in non-aqueous solvents) and safety. ² However, the nascent non-aqueous redox flow battery (NRFB) technology currently faces key challenges that need to be addressed to ensure their reliability and widespread implementation. Low stability of active material during deep cycling is one such challenge that needs to be addressed while low solubility of active material in organic solvent is another main hurdle that greatly limits energy density.

Herein, we present a cost-effective, experimental-theoretical approach ^{3, 4} to improve the solubility of a vanadium-based, highly stable, anionic active material known as vanadium-bis-hydroxyiminodiacetate (VBH). This is accomplished by tuning the key thermodynamic quantities of free energy of solvation and free energy of the lattice. We also demonstrate that the lattice free energy, which has been largely ignored in theoretical solubility models, is vital to obtain a meaningful prediction of solubility, and cannot be overlooked. Finally, we report the full cell cycling of the highly soluble VBH, coupled with an anthraquinone, exhibiting excellent cyclability and a reliable spectroscopic method to characterize pre- and post-cycled electrolytes.

References

(1) IEA. Renewable Energy Market Update 2021; Paris, 2021.

(2) Dunn, B.; Kamath, H.; Tarascon, J.-M. Electrical Energy Storage for the Grid: A Battery of Choices. Science 2011, 334 (6058), 928-935. DOI: 10.1126/science.1212741.

(3) Pahari, S. K.; Gokoglan, T. C.; Visayas, B. R. B.; Woehl, J.; Golen, J. A.; Howland, R.; Mayes, M. L.; Agar, E.; Cappillino, P. J. Designing high energy density flow batteries by tuning active-material thermodynamics. RSC Advances 2021, 11 (10), 5432-5443, 10.1039/D0RA10913D. DOI: 10.1039/D0RA10913D.

(4) Visayas, B. R. B.; Pahari, S. K.; Gokoglan, T. C.; Golen, J. A.; Agar, E.; Cappillino, P. J.; Mayes, M. L. Computational and experimental investigation of the effect of cation structure on the solubility of anionic flow battery active-materials. Chemical Science 2021, 12 (48), 15892-15907, 10.1039/D1SC04990A. DOI: 10.1039/D1SC04990A.