Working Paper
Authors
- Shitong Wang Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Heng Jiang Oregon State University ,
- Yanhao Dong Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- David Clarkson City University of New York ,
- He Zhu City University of Hong Kong ,
- Charles Settens Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Yang Ren City University of Hong Kong ,
- Thanh Nguyen Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Fei Han Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Weiwei Fan Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- So Yeon Kim Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Jianan Zhang Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Weijiang Xue Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Sean Sandstrom Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Guiyin Xu Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Emre Tekoglu Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Mingda Li Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Sili Deng Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,
- Qi Liu City University of Hong Kong ,
- Steven Greenbaum City University of New York ,
- Xiulei Ji Oregon State University ,
- Tao Gao
University of Utah ,
- Ju Li Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Proton conduction underlies many important electrochemical technologies. We report a series of new proton electrolytes: acid-in-clay electrolyte termed AiCE, prepared by integrating fast proton carriers in a natural phyllosilicate clay network, that can be made into thin-film (tens of microns) fluid-impervious membranes. The chosen example systems (sepiolite-phosphoric acid) rank top among the solid proton conductors in consideration of proton conductivities (15 mS cm−1 at 25 °C, 0.023 mS cm−1 at −82 °C), the stability window (3.35 V), and reduced chemical activity. A solid-state proton battery was assembled using AiCE as the electrolyte to demonstrate the performance of these electrolytes. Benefitting from the wider electrochemical stability window, reduced corrosivity, and excellent ionic selectivity of AiCE, the two main problems (gasification and cyclability) of proton batteries have been successfully solved. This work also draws the attention of elemental cross-over in proton batteries and illustrates a simple “acid-in-clay” approach to synthesize a series of solid proton electrolytes with a superfast proton permeability, outstanding selectivity, and improved stability for many potential applications associated with protons.
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