1. Coating Electrodes with Hybrid Carbon-Bismuth
Nanoparticles for Energy Storage Applications
Trevor Yates, Adam McNeeley, William Barrett | GRA: Abhinandh Sankar, AC: Dr. Anastasios Angelopoulos | University of Cincinnati
Introduction
 Renewable energy must eventually replace fossil fuels in the
power grid
 Renewable energy must be stored efficiently for economic
viability
• Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFBs) are attractive for this
application due to their high stability
• VRFBs lack sufficient power density, energy conversion
efficiency, and rate capability
• Recent study improved energy conversion efficiency of VRFBs
11% by using Bismuth nanoparticles [1]
• Investigate Bismuth and Carbon nanoparticles in order to
further improve VRFB performance
Procedure
Results Conclusions
 Trend is observed that Carbon stabilizes Bismuth
 Peak current increases as more layers are applied
 Standard Layer-by-Layer Assembly is a better technique
than directed Layer-by-Layer Assembly for this application
 Cationic polymer is best used to separate Carbon and Bismuth
nanoparticles
Acknowledgments
Future Research
 Verify that Carbon stabilizes Bismuth peaks
 Investigate why Carbon stabilizes Bismuth peaks
 Perform microscopic characterization of Carbon and Bismuth
nanoparticles
 Scale up the production of Bismuth nanoparticles and electrode
assembly
 Quantify the improvement on Vanadium Redox Flow Battery
performance
• Thank you NSF for funding this project: Grant Nos. DUE 0756921 and EEC
1004623.
• This material is based upon work supported by the National Science
Foundation under Grant Nos. DUE 0756921 and EEC 1004623. Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the National Science Foundation.
• Special thanks to Abhinandh Sankar and Dr. Anastasios Angelopoulos
• [1] Suarez, David J.; Gonzalez, Zoraida; et al. (2014). “Graphite Felt Modified
with Bismuth Nanoparticles as Negative Electrode in a Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery,” ChemSusChem, Vol.7, No. 3, pp. 914-918.
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 5 10 15 20 25
Percent
Cycle Number
Higher Stability With Carbon
Carbon
No Carbon
-0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
Potential (V vs Ag/AgCl)
CurrentDensity(mA/cm2
)
sLbL vs. dLbL
dLbL
sLbL
-0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
Potential (V vs Ag/AgCl)
CurrentDensity(mA/cm2
)
4-Layers vs. 8-Layers
4-Layers
8-Layers
Objectives
• Construct electrocatalysts with Layer-by-Layer Assembly
• Use cyclic voltammetry in order to electrochemically
characterize the electocatalysts
• Find whether Carbon adds stability to the peaks
• Determine if more layers leads to higher current density peaks
• Compare the performance of standard Layer-by-Layer
Assembly (sLbL) and directed Layer-by-Layer Assembly
(dLbL) in order to gain a better understanding of how Carbon
and Bismuth nanoparticles interact
• Each component dries two minutes and then washes in
deionized water for one minute
• NaOH washes away the Tin particles after all layers are
applied
• sLbL is stacked with Polymer, Carbon, Polymer, Bismuth-
Tin complex for each layer
• dLbL is stacked with Polymer, Carbon, Bismuth-Tin
complex for each layer
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/smooth-sailing-for-wind-power-with-
new-flow-battery-or-not-34476