A new type of battery developed by scientists at Oregon State University may show promise for sustainable, high-power energy storage. The battery uses only hydronium ions as the charge carrier.

Researchers say the battery provides an additional option, particularly in the area of stationary storage.

A new battery shows promise for sustainable, high-power energy storage.A new battery shows promise for sustainable, high-power energy storage.Stationary storage refers to batteries in a permanent location that store grid power—including power generated from alternative energy sources such as wind turbines or solar cells—for use on a standby or emergency basis.

Hydronium, also known as H3O+, is a positively charged ion produced when a proton is added to a water molecule. Researchers in the OSU College of Science demonstrated that hydronium ions can be reversibly stored in an electrode material consisting of perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydridem, or PTCDA.

This material is an organic, crystalline, molecular solid. The battery uses dilute sulfuric acid as the electrolyte.

Graduate student Xingfeng Wang was the first author on the study, which has been published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a publication of the German Chemical Society.

According to Xiulei Ji, assistant professor of chemistry at OSU, this may provide a paradigm-shifting opportunity for more sustainable batteries. It doesn’t use lithium, sodium, or potassium to carry the charge, but relies on acid as the electrolyte.

Ji says out that until now, cations—ions with a positive charge—that have been used in batteries have been alkali metal, alkaline earth metals or aluminum.

The study observed a big dilation of the PTCDA lattice structure during intercalation—the process of its receiving ions between the layers of its structure. That meant the electrode was being charged, and the PTCDA structure expanded, by hydronium ions, rather than extremely tiny protons, which are already used in some batteries.

Organic solids are not typically contemplated as crystalline electrode materials, but many are very crystalline, arranged in a very ordered structure, Ji says. PTCDA material has a lot of internal space between its molecule constituents so it provides an opportunity for storing big ions and good capacity.

The hydronium ions also migrate through the electrode structure with comparatively low “friction,” which translates to high power.

According to Ji, the battery may offer an alternative for energy storage, particularly for stationary grid storage.

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