Engineering Robust Cathodes for Sustainable Energy Storage

电池和电容器等储能设备已经成为我们日常生活中不可或缺的一部分，人们非常热衷于加快这项技术在电动汽车和电网存储中的应用。它还在缓解气候变化方面发挥着至关重要的作用，并通过储存和利用可再生资源产生的能源来实现低碳经济。虽然自20世纪90年代S以来锂离子电池(LIB)一直主导着市场，但资源短缺和回收含有危险和活性物质的LIB面临的挑战将对英国产生不利影响，使其依赖外部市场。因此，迫切需要开发具有环境友好和可持续材料的储能装置，这些材料易于回收，将引领循环经济的道路。在这方面，锌离子电容器(ZIC)提供了一种可持续、低成本(每千瓦时成本)、安全且易于回收的能量存储系统。在我们之前将维生素基离子液体电解液用于环保电池的基础上，本项目旨在开发具有高能量和功率密度的锌离子电容器(ZIC)。这将导致ZIC以更快的速度充电，并储存更多能量。作为一个新兴的课题，ZICs面临的主要挑战是锌离子的大小和电荷，这些离子很难储存在阴极上，导致容量较低，循环能力有限。因此，本课题的目标是：1.研制合适的掺杂过渡金属氧化物的2D多孔碳复合阴极，提高锌离子的电子导电性和扩散动力学，获得较高的功率密度，并诱导阴极中的储存位获得较高的能量密度。2.利用与金刚石光源相结合的现场测量技术，了解锌在电容器中的储存机理和阻挡反应。3.对阴极进行调制，以减轻阻抗反应，提高ZIC的性能。4.与项目合作伙伴(TWI)接洽以扩大和实施

Energy storage devices such as batteries and capacitors have become an integral part of our daily life and there is a tremendous zeal to accelerate this technology to be used in electric vehicles and grid storage. It also plays a vital role in mitigating climate change, and enables a low carbon economy by storing and utilising the energy generated from renewable resources. Although lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have dominated the market from 1990's, the shortage of resources and challenges faced in recycling LIBs which contain hazardous and reactive materials will have a detrimental effect on UK and make it dependent on external markets. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop energy storage devices with environmentally benign and sustainable materials that are easy to recycle which would lead the way to a circular economy. In this regard, Zn ion capacitors (ZICs) offer a sustainable, cost-effective (cost-per-kWh) and safe energy storage system which is also easy to recycle.Building on our previous work on using vitamin based ionic liquid electrolytes in batteries that are environmentally benign, the current project aims at developing Zn ion capacitors (ZICs) having high energy and power densities. This would lead ZICs to charge at a faster rate and store more energy. As an emerging topic, the major challenge in ZICs is the size and charge of Zn ions which are difficult to store at the cathode and leads to lower capacity and limited cyclability. Therefore, the project aims at 1. Developing suitable hybrid cathodes with 2D porous carbon embedded with transition metal oxides that can improve electronic conductivity and diffusion kinetics of Zn ions to obtain high power density, and also inducing storage sites in the cathode to obtain high energy density. 2. Understanding the Zn storage mechanism and impedimental reactions which take place in the capacitors by in situ measurement techniques in collaboration with Diamond Light Source. 3. Modulating the cathode to mitigate the impedimental reactions and improve the ZIC performance. 4. Engaging with project partners (TWI) for scale-up and implementation