Status : Verified
| Personal Name | Ortega, Maura Andrea A. |
|---|---|
| Resource Title | Fe3O4@Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes with Zinc Sulfide Additive as High-Performance Anode for Nickel-Iron Battery |
| Date Issued | 27 June 2025 |
| Abstract | Nickel-iron (Ni-Fe) batteries are emerging as a safer and more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries, due to their aqueous electrolytes, long cycle life, robustness, and use of earth abundant materials. However, their performance is critically limited by the iron anode, which suffers from poor conductivity, sluggish redox kinetics, electrode surface passivation, and parasitic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, a dual strategy approach was employed to overcome these challenges. First, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were hydrothermally grown on acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Fe3O4@MWCNT) to improve electronic conductivity and electrochemically active surface area. Second, metal sulfide additives (ZnS, Bi2S3, and FeS) were introduced into the electrode formulation to suppress HER and reduce electrode surface passivation. Among these, ZnS exhibited the best overall electrochemical performance. The Fe3O4@MWCNT electrode with 5 wt% ZnS achieved a specific capacity of 400.86 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1, which is more than twice that of bare Fe3O4 (193.27 mAh g-1) electrode. Further investigation into the ZnS loading revealed that while the 3 wt% (408.44 mAh g-1) and 5 wt% ZnS-containing electrodes exhibited higher initial capacities at 1 A g-1, the 7 wt% ZnS electrode offered the best cycling stability, retaining 78.48% of its capacity (383.83 mAh g-1) after 100 cycles. Notably, the 7 wt% ZnS electrode developed a new discharge plateau after 35 cycles, which is attributed to the Fe0/Fe2+ oxidation facilitated by the in situ formation of FeS. As a result, the passivation of the iron-based electrode surface was reduced. The stable supply of sulfide ions at higher ZnS content likely supports this phenomenon and improves cycling stability. These findings highlight the synergistic effect of conductive nanostructures and metal sulfide additives in enhancing the electrochemical performance of iron-based anodes for high-performance Ni-Fe batteries. |
| Degree Course | Master of Science in Chemical Engineering |
| Language | English |
| Keyword | Ni-Fe battery, iron anode, ZnS additive, passivation, hydrogen evolution |
| Material Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
Preliminary Pages
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Category : I - Has patentable or registrable invention of creation.
Access Permission : Limited Access