Eco-friendly Energy Storage System: Seawater and Ionic Liquid Electrolyte

Abstract

As existing battery technologies struggle to meet the requirements for widespread use in the field of large-scale energy storage, novel concepts are urgently needed concerning batteries that have high energy densities, low costs, and high levels of safety. Here, a novel eco-friendly energy storage system (ESS) using seawater and an ionic liquid is proposed for the first time; this represents an intermediate system between a battery and a fuel cell, and is accordingly referred to as a hybrid rechargeable cell. Compared to conventional organic electrolytes, the ionic liquid electrolyte significantly enhances the cycle performance of the seawater hybrid rechargeable system, acting as a very stable interface layer between the Sn-C (Na storage) anode and the NASICON (Na3Zr2Si2PO12) ceramic solid electrolyte, making this system extremely promising for cost-efficient and environmentally friendly large-scale energy storage. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim