Neutral Aqueous Redox-Targeting Lithium Flow Battery for Higher Energy Density

The patent uses porous conductive particles as solid energy storage materials that can absorb and store redox mediators within their porous structure. This allows the redox mediators to be held in a fixed location while maintaining their electrochemical activity, effectively increasing the concentration of active substances without compromising fluidity of the electrolyte solution.

The patent creates a composite system combining porous conductive particles with redox mediators. The porous particles serve as both structural support and active material carrier, while the redox mediators provide electrochemical functionality. This composite approach enables high energy density while maintaining good fluidity and electrical conductivity.

The porous conductive particles provide a large surface area and internal volume for holding redox mediators without significantly increasing the viscosity of the electrolyte. The porous structure allows the redox mediators to be distributed throughout the particle network while the electrolyte can still flow freely through the porous matrix.

The porous conductive particles act as an intermediary carrier that holds the redox mediators in place. Instead of using high-concentration suspended particles that would increase viscosity, the redox mediators are absorbed into the porous structure of fixed particles, eliminating the viscosity problem while maintaining high active substance concentration.

The patent changes the key parameter of redox mediator selection from multiple mediators with different potentials to a single mediator (ferrocene) whose potential can be adjusted through its ionic liquid environment. By changing the solvent and adding lithium salts, the redox potential of ferrocene is tuned to precisely match lithium ferro phosphate, eliminating voltage loss while maintaining good cycle life.

The patent replaces expensive and unstable glass-ceramic membranes with more stable and cost-effective alternatives that work effectively with the ferrocene-based electrolyte system. This substitution reduces system cost and improves long-term stability without sacrificing performance.

The patent creates a composite electrolyte system combining aqueous solution with ionic liquid components. This hybrid approach maintains the high voltage efficiency characteristics of ionic liquids while introducing sufficient Li+ conductivity from the aqueous phase, thereby achieving both high voltage efficiency and adequate power density.

The patent changes the electrolyte composition parameters by introducing lithium salts into the ferrocene-based ionic liquid system. This increases the Li+ concentration and conductivity, enabling higher power density while the ferrocene/Li+ potential match maintains the high voltage efficiency of 95%.

The patent replaces expensive and fragile glass-ceramic membranes with more practical membrane materials that provide adequate chemical stability for the ferrocene-based electrolyte system. This substitution reduces system complexity and cost while maintaining sufficient performance for practical applications.

The patent adjusts the electrolyte composition parameters to be compatible with alternative membrane materials. By optimizing the ionic liquid and aqueous solution ratios, the electrolyte achieves sufficient chemical stability with more practical membranes, eliminating the need for specialized glass-ceramic components.