Use plasma in battery design

Engineers at Case Western Reserve University in the United States have built an electrochemical battery that uses plasma as an electrode instead of metal.

The results of the study were published online in The American Chemical Society.

This new technology has opened up new directions for the design and manufacture of fuel cells and batteries from hydrogen fuel, synthetic nanomaterials and polymers.

"Plasma formed in ambient conditions is often sparks: uncontrollable, unstable and destructive," said Mohan Sankaran, professor of chemical engineering and the lead author of the study. : We have developed a stable plasma source at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, allowing us to study and control the transfer of electrons across the transition surface: plasma and a capacitance electrolyte solution.
In this study, the scientists filled the electrochemical battery (essentially two glass jars connected by glass tubes) with electrolyte solutions: potassium ferrite and potassium chloride.

At the cathode (cathode), argon gas is pumped through a stainless steel tube placed above, a short distance from the electrolyte. A small plasma component forms between the glass tube and the transition surface.

Anode (anode) is a piece of silver (or silver chloride). When the electric current passes through the plasma, the lost electron ferixianua should be converted into ferrocyanide.

Observing through the ultraviolet spectrum, the researchers were able to see: the electrons in the solution were lost in a relatively stable ratio and each lost ferixianua molecule turned into one. Ferrocyanide.

As the intensity of the current increases, the rate of electronic loss also increases. Testing at both electrodes shows that current is still maintained.

However, the researchers discovered two disadvantages:

Only about 1 in 20 electrons passing through plasma is involved in the reduced reaction. The researchers speculated that the lost electrons were converted into hydrogen molecules in water, or were involved in other reactions that were not currently detected. The team is setting up new tests to understand this phenomenon.

In addition, the energy needed to form plasma and produce high electrochemical reactions is substantially more than the amount of energy needed to produce a reaction with metal cathodes.

The researchers found that the first model in this study may not be as effective as what most industries require, but the technology has the potential to be used in many different applications.

Together with Professor Sankaran, Seung swept the plasma on a thin film to minimize metal positive ions forming crystalline metal nanoparticles in the form.

"The goal is to produce small-scale nanostructures, which can be done with vacuum lithography (but in this experiment it is done in an open room). ", follow Seung.

Researchers are currently working to clarify: whether plasma electrodes can replace traditional electrodes, with applications such as converting hydrogen in water to hydrogen gas on a large scale, changing CO2. into useful fuels and chemicals like ethanol.

The researchers conducted fine-tuning processes and tested the optimal combination between electrode design and chemical reactions for different applications.

Co-author with Sankaran, this study includes: alumni Carolyn Richmonds and Brandon Bartling; students Megan Witzke and Lee Seung Whan; 02 chemical engineering professors: Jesse Wainright and Chung-Chiun Liu.