Flow batteries are a promising energy storage solution. However, the footprint and capital cost need further reduction for flow batteries to be commercially viable. The flow cell, where electron exchange takes place, is a central component of flow batteries. Improving the volumetric power density of the flow cell (W/L cell ) can reduce the size and cost of flow batteries. While significant progress has been made on flow battery redox, electrode, and membrane materials to improve energy density and durability, conventional flow batteries based on the planar cell configuration exhibit a large cell size with multiple bulky accessories such as flow distributors, resulting in low volumetric power density. Here, we introduce a submillimeter bundled microtubular (SBMT) flow battery cell configuration that significantly improves volumetric power density by reducing the membrane-to-membrane distance by almost 100 times and eliminating the bulky flow distributors completely. Using zinc–iodide chemistry as a demonstration, our SBMT cell shows peak charge and discharge power densities of 1,322 W/L cell and 306.1 W/L cell , respectively, compared with average charge and discharge power densities of <60 W/L cell and 45 W/L cell , respectively, of conventional planar flow battery cells. The battery cycled for more than 220 h corresponding to >2,500 cycles at off-peak conditions. Furthermore, the SBMT cell has been demonstrated to be compatible with zinc–bromide, quinone–bromide, and all-vanadium chemistries. The SBMT flow cell represents a device-level innovation to enhance the volumetric power of flow batteries and potentially reduce the size and cost of the cells and the entire flow battery.

The coatings on aluminum beverage can lid interiors can be prone to long-term degradation due to the high impact forces during fabrication and the corrosive nature of beverages. Multi-month tests are required to assess their resistance to this degradation. The purpose of this work is to introduce an accelerated can lid testing method with online Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) monitoring under real conditions and with real beverages that can imitate the lengthy pack tests typically employed. Twelve reactors were constructed and incorporated in a testing setup, EIS spectra were collected and analyzed using equivalent circuit models. The effect of test duration, pressure, temperature, and beverage on the degradation of the lids were investigated. The results showed that both temperature and pressure accelerate degradation. In addition, 10-day accelerated tests with EIS online monitoring were compared to 10-day and 6-month pack tests. Metal Exposure and aluminum concentration from the pack tests were correlated with the pore resistance, the charge transfer resistance, and the double layer capacitance of the lids extracted from the EIS spectra. The developed method has the potential to mimic the multi-month pack tests and offers a quicker, more insightful, and less laborious alternative for the lid degradation assessment. Ultimately, this method could help in improving the longevity and quality of aluminum beverage cans.

Volumetric power density is a key factor determining flow batteries' footprint, capital cost and ability to handle uneven energy resource distributions. While significant progress has been made on flow battery materials and electrochemistry to improve energy density, conventional flow battery assemblies based on planar cell configuration exhibit low packing efficiencies and membrane surface area per volume of the cell, thus resulting in low volumetric power density. Here, we introduce a co-axial microtubular (CAMT) flow battery cell that significantly improves the volumetric power density. This cell design overcomes the intrinsic power limit of planar cell configuration and is suitable for all mainstream flow battery chemistries. Using zinc-iodide chemistry as a demonstration, our CAMT cell shows peak charge and discharge power densities of 1322 W/Lcell and 306.1 W/Lcell compared to average charge and discharge power densities of < 60 W/Lcell and 45 W/Lcell of conventional planar flow battery cells. In addition, the battery can cycle for more than 220 hours, corresponding to > 2,500 cycles at off-peak conditions. Furthermore, we have also demonstrated that the CAMT cell is compatible with zinc-bromide, quinone-bromide, and all-vanadium chemistries. The CAMT flow cell represents a device-level innovation to enhance the volumetric power of flow batteries, and potentially reduce the size and cost of the cells and the entire flow battery. The CAMT design can potentially be applied to other electrochemical systems and lead to a paradigm shift in flow battery fundamental study and commercialization.

The increasing application of renewable energy sources has created the need for efficient electric energystorage. Redox flow batteries offer a viable alternative for these applications, having the advantages of long-life cycles and decoupling the power output and the storage capacity. Current RFBs use a planarconfiguration for the reactor. This configuration has been thoroughly studied and it has probably reached itsupper limit with respect to power density. This work presents a scalable hollow-fiber based co-axialmicrotubular flow battery design which proves to be a major leap forward in the power density of RFBs. Thisengineering solution provides significantly higher packing efficiency and membrane surface-to-area-ratio,lowering the capital cost and improving the volumetric power density. The performance of the new device isassessed by measuring the peak charge and discharge power densities, as well as the cycling performancefor both organic and inorganic redox couples.

Serious games (SGs) about Chemistry have the potential to cope with challenges, such as students’ low performance and lack of motivation for the subject. However, the majority of existing SGs for Chemistry have the form of educational applications infused with some elements of entertaining games. The aim of the study presented was to design and evaluate a new SG with rich game mechanics for Chemistry. The game is called Elementium and revolves around basic topics of Chemistry, such as chemical elements and compound terminology, creation and everyday usage of such elements. The main goal of the game is to familiarize junior high school students with the aforementioned subjects. The design of Elementium was carried out implementing the dimensions described in the Four-Dimensional framework, as proposed by de Freitas and Jarvis in 2006. After the development process, Elementium was evaluated by people in the field of education that are currently teaching or have taught Chemistry in the past. The participants play-tested the game at leisure in their homes and evaluated it based on the key criteria for SGs design proposed by Sanchez in 2011, as well as other quality indicators established in the literature. Elementium was positively evaluated by Chemistry teachers in terms of its acceptance, usability, didactic utility, and game environment. The positive results concluded from this evaluation show that Elementium is fulfilling its main purpose and can be used as a supplementary tool in the teaching process. However, its true didactical effectiveness has to be confirmed through a study with high school students.