Design and Development of Rechargeable Proton Battery

Abstract

The pitfall of the existing energy grid system such as global warming, depletion of fossil fuel resources, and paramount pollution mandate the focus on renewable, and sustainable energy resources. The hydrogen economy is considered to be one of the promising alternative energy economies because of its prospects for a zero carbon footprint. The hydrogen economy consists majorly of three steps, the first being the production of hydrogen. The second is the storage of the produced hydrogen and its transport, and the third is the utilization of this stored hydrogen for energy conversion. However, existing technologies/ infrastructure do need at least three different devices for the successful implementation of hydrogen economy. The prime motive of my thesis was to exploit various methodologies to facilitate the coupling of multiple key steps of the hydrogen economy under a single roof and thereby developing novel hydrogen-based battery system by utilizing electrochemically active hydrogen storage materials. The working principle of all our system is kept intact: shuttling protons back and forth between the negative and the positive electrodes during charging and discharging. The proposed hydrogen battery can convert the chemical energy in the chemical bonds to electricity when coupled with electro chemically reversible hydrogen storage molecules. The device offers a plethora of opportunities as it can be charged electrically as well as chemically using air. The electrochemical reversibility of hydrogen storing redox molecules and its energy alignment in between dioxygen and dihydrogen provide opportunities for charging the battery even with air. The issues associated with the storage of molecular hydrogen was then completely eliminated with a negative electrode that can electrochemically store protons at a potential close to hydrogen redox couple, which led to the development of an All Solid State Rechargeable Proton Battery. The design and development of above mentioned three rechargeable proton batteries encompassed two main streams of the hydrogen economy namely storage and utilization of hydrogen. Eventually, towards developing a sustainable proton-based battery, we fabricated a Reversible Atmospheric Water Battery which connects all the three steps in the hydrogen economy such as production, storage, and utilization in a single device. The integration of batteries into key facets of the hydrogen economy, spanning production, storage, transportation, and utilization, presents a promising avenue for enhancing overall system efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. This thesis explores the synergies between batteries and hydrogen technologies, addressing challenges and proposing novel strategies to advance the integration of these two essential components in the pursuit of a more sustainable energy future.