Imperial College London

DrVladimirYufit

Faculty of EngineeringDepartment of Earth Science & Engineering

Visiting Researcher
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 1186v.yufit

 
 
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Location

 

3.58Royal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Publication Type
Year
to

71 results found

Zhang D, Forner-Cuenca A, Taiwo OO, Yufit V, Brushett FR, Brandon NP, Gu S, Cai Qet al., 2020, Understanding the role of the porous electrode microstructure in redox flow battery performance using an experimentally validated 3D pore-scale lattice Boltzmann model, JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES, Vol: 447, ISSN: 0378-7753

Journal article

Chakrabarti B, Yufit V, Kavei A, Xia Y, Stevenson G, Kalamaras E, Luo H, Feng J, Tariq F, Taiwo O, Titirici M-M, Brandon Net al., 2019, Charge/discharge and cycling performance of flexible carbon paper electrodes in a regenerative hydrogen/vanadium fuel cell, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY, Vol: 44, Pages: 30093-30107, ISSN: 0360-3199

Journal article

Pino-Munoz CA, Chakrabarti BK, Yufit V, Brandon NPet al., 2019, Characterization of a regenerative hydrogen-vanadium fuel cell using an experimentally validated unit cell model, Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol: 166, Pages: A3511-A3524, ISSN: 0013-4651

A hydrogen-vanadium electrochemical system was characterized using extensive experimental tests at different current densities and flow rates of vanadium electrolyte. The maximum peak power density achieved was 2840 W m− 2 along with a limiting current density of over 4200 A m− 2. The cycling performance presented a stable coulombic efficiency over 51 cycles with a mean value of 99.8%, while the voltage efficiency decreased slowly over time from a value of 90.3% to 87.0%. The capacity loss was of 5.6 A s per cycle, which could be related to crossover of ionic species and liquid water. A unit cell model, previously proposed by the authors, was modified to include the effect of species crossover and used to predict the cell potential. Reasonable agreement between the model simulations and the experimental charge-discharge data was observed, with Normalized Root-Mean-Square Errors (NRMSEs) within the range of 0.8–5.3% and 2.9–19.0% for charge and discharge, respectively. Also, a good degree of accuracy was observed in the simulated trend of the polarization and power density, with NRMSEs of 3.1% and 1.0%, and 1.1% and 1.9%, for the operation at a flow rate of vanadium electrolyte of 100 and 50 mL min− 1, respectively, while the voltage efficiency during the cycling test were estimated within a Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) of 1.9%. A study of the effect of the component properties on the cell potential was carried out by means of a model sensitivity analysis. The cell potential was sensitive to the cathodic transfer coefficient and the cathode porosity, which are directly related to the cathodic overpotential through the Butler-Volmer equation and the cathodic ohmic overpotential. It was recognized that a kinetic study for the cathodic reaction is needed to obtain more reliable kinetic parameters at practical vanadium concentrations, as well as reliable microstructural parameters of carbon electrodes.

Journal article

Trudgeon DP, Qiu K, Li X, Mallick T, Taiwo OO, Chakrabarti B, Yufit V, Brandon NP, Crevillen-Garcia D, Shah Aet al., 2019, Screening of effective electrolyte additives for zinc-based redox flow battery systems, JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES, Vol: 412, Pages: 44-54, ISSN: 0378-7753

Journal article

Yufit V, Tariq F, Biton M, Brandon Net al., 2019, Operando visualisation and multi-scale tomography studies of dendrite formation and dissolution in zinc batteries, Joule, Vol: 3, Pages: 485-502, ISSN: 2542-4351

Alternative battery technologies are required to meet growing energy demands and address the limitations of present technologies. As such, it is necessary to look beyond lithium-ion batteries. Zinc batteries enable high power density while being sourced from ubiquitous and cost-effective materials. This paper presents, for the first time known to the authors, multi-length scale tomography studies of failure mechanisms in zinc batteries with and without commercial microporous separators. In both cases, dendrites were grown, dissolved, and regrown, critically resulting in different morphology of dendritic layer formed on both the electrode and the separator. The growth of dendrites and their volume-specific areas were quantified using tomography and radiography data in unprecedented resolution. High-resolution ex situ analysis was employed to characterize single dendrites and dendritic deposits inside the separator. The findings provide unique insights into mechanisms of metal-battery failure effected by growing dendrites.

Journal article

Rubio-Garcia J, Kucernak A, Zhao D, Lei D, Fahy K, Yufit V, Brandon N, Gomez-Gonzalez Met al., 2019, Hydrogen/manganese hybrid redox flow battery, JPhys Energy, Vol: 1, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 2515-7655

Electrochemical energy storage is a key enabling technology for further integration of renewables sources. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are promising candidates for such applications as a result of their durability, efficiency and fast response. However, deployment of existing RFBs is hindered by the relatively high cost of the (typically vanadium-based) electrolyte. Manganese is an earth-abundant and inexpensive element that is widely used in disposable alkaline batteries. However it has hitherto been little explored for RFBs due to the instability of Mn(III) leading to precipitation of MnO2 via a disproportionation reaction. Here we show that by combining the facile hydrogen negative electrode reaction with electrolytes that suppress Mn(III) disproportionation, it is possible to construct a hydrogen/manganese hybrid RFB with high round trip energy efficiency (82%), and high power and energy density (1410 mW cm−2, 33 Wh l−1), at an estimated 70% cost reduction compared to vanadium redox flow batteries.

Journal article

Tariq F, Rubio-Garcia J, Yufit V, Bertei A, Chakrabarti BK, Kucernak A, Brandon Net al., 2018, Uncovering the mechanisms of electrolyte permeation in porous electrodes for redox flow batteries through real time in situ 3D imaging, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & FUELS, Vol: 2, Pages: 2068-2080, ISSN: 2398-4902

Journal article

Zhang D, Cai Q, Taiwo OO, Yufit V, Brandon NP, Gu Set al., 2018, The effect of wetting area in carbon paper electrode on the performance of vanadium redox flow batteries: A three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann study, Electrochimica Acta, Vol: 283, Pages: 1806-1819, ISSN: 0013-4686

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) has emerged as a promising technology for large-scale storage of intermittent power generated from renewable energy sources due to its advantages such as scalability, high energy efficiency and low cost. In the current study, a three-dimensional(3D) Lattice Boltzmann model is developed to simulate the transport mechanisms of electrolyte flow, species and charge in the vanadium redox flow battery at the micro pore scale. An electrochemical model using the Butler-Volmer equation is used to provide species and charge coupling at the surface of active electrode. The detailed structure of the carbon paper electrode is obtained using X-ray Computed Tomography(CT). The new model developed in the paper is able to predict the local concentration of different species, over-potential and current density profiles under charge/discharge conditions. The simulated capillary pressure as a function of electrolyte volume fraction for electrolyte wetting process in carbon paper electrode is presented. Different wet surface area of carbon paper electrode correspond to different electrolyte volume fraction in pore space of electrode. The model is then used to investigate the effect of wetting area in carbon paper electrode on the performance of vanadium redox flow battery. It is found that the electrochemical performance of positive half cell is reduced with air bubbles trapped inside the electrode.

Journal article

Bertei A, Yufit V, Tariq F, Brandon Net al., 2018, A novel approach for the quantification of inhomogeneous 3D current distribution in fuel cell electrodes, Journal of Power Sources, Vol: 369, Pages: 246-256, ISSN: 0378-7753

The electrode microstructural properties significantly influence the efficiency and durability of many electrochemical devices including solid oxide fuel cells. Despite the possibility of simulating the electrochemical phenomena within real three-dimensional microstructures, the potential of such 3D microstructural information has not yet been fully exploited. We introduce here a completely new methodology for the advanced characterization of inhomogeneous current distribution based on a statistical analysis of the current of each particle within the microstructure. We quantify the large variation in local current distributionand link it to the particle size dispersion, indicating how particle coarsening can trigger further degradation. We identify two classes of particles: those transferring more current than average, which show 10-40% more particle-particle contacts, and those producing more current than average, characterized by ~2.5 times larger three-phase boundary length per unit volume. These two classes of particles are mutually exclusive, which implies that up to the 30% of the electrode volume within the functional layer is underutilized. This fundamental insight goes well beyond the predictions of continuum modeling, allowing us to revisit the current standards regarding safe operating conditions and to suggest alternative strategies based on nanoparticle infiltration, template-assisted synthesis and additive manufacturing for designing more durable electrodes.

Journal article

Gadoue S, Chen K-W, Mitcheson P, Yufit V, Brandon Net al., 2018, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy State of Charge Measurement for Batteries using Power Converter Modulation, 9th International Renewable Energy Congress (IREC), Publisher: IEEE, ISSN: 2378-3435

Conference paper

Merla Y, Wu B, Yufit V, Martinez-Botas RF, Offer GJet al., 2018, An easy-to-parameterise physics-informed battery model and its application towards lithium-ion battery cell design, diagnosis, and degradation, Journal of Power Sources, Vol: 384, Pages: 66-79, ISSN: 0378-7753

Accurate diagnosis of lithium ion battery state-of-health (SOH) is of significant value for many applications, to improve performance, extend life and increase safety. However, in-situ or in-operando diagnosis of SOH often requires robust models. There are many models available however these often require expensive-to-measure ex-situ parameters and/or contain unmeasurable parameters that were fitted/assumed. In this work, we have developed a new empirically parameterised physics-informed equivalent circuit model. Its modular construction and low-cost parametrisation requirements allow end users to parameterise cells quickly and easily. The model is accurate to 19.6 mV for dynamic loads without any global fitting/optimisation, only that of the individual elements. The consequences of various degradation mechanisms are simulated, and the impact of a degraded cell on pack performance is explored, validated by comparison with experiment. Results show that an aged cell in a parallel pack does not have a noticeable effect on the available capacity of other cells in the pack. The model shows that cells perform better when electrodes are more porous towards the separator and have a uniform particle size distribution, validated by comparison with published data. The model is provided with this publication for readers to use.

Journal article

Munoz CAP, Dewage HH, Yufit V, Brandon NPet al., 2017, A unit cell model of a regenerative hydrogen-vanadium fuel cell, Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol: 164, Pages: F1717-F1732, ISSN: 1945-7111

In this study, a time dependent model for a regenerative hydrogen-vanadium fuel cell is introduced. This lumped isothermal model is based on mass conservation and electrochemical kinetics, and it simulates the cell working potential considering the major ohmic resistances, a complete Butler–Volmer kinetics for the cathode overpotential and a Tafel–Volmer kinetics near mass-transport free conditions for the anode overpotential. Comparison of model simulations against experimental data was performed by using a 25 cm2 lab scale prototype operated in galvanostatic mode at different current density values (50−600Am−2). A complete Nernst equation derived from thermodynamic principles was fitted to open circuit potential data, enabling a global activity coefficient to be estimated. The model prediction of the cell potential of one single charge-discharge cycle at a current density of 400Am−2 was used to calibrate the model and a model validation was carried out against six additional data sets, which showed a reasonably good agreement between the model simulation of the cell potential and the experimental data with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) in the range of 0.3–6.1% and 1.3–8.8% for charge and discharge, respectively. The results for the evolution of species concentrations in the cathode and anode are presented for one data set. The proposed model permits study of the key factors that limit the performance of the system and is capable of converging to a meaningful solution relatively fast (s–min).

Journal article

Biton M, Tariq F, Yufit V, Chen Z, Brandon Net al., 2017, Integrating multi-length scale high resolution 3D imaging and modelling in the characterisation and identification of mechanical failure sites in electrochemical dendrites, Acta Materialia, Vol: 141, Pages: 39-46, ISSN: 1359-6454

The Zn-air battery system is attractive because of its potentially high power density, environmental compatibility and low-cost materials [1]. This paper is focused on understanding the degradation of Zn air batteries, in particular the evolution of Zn dendrites, one of the main degradation mechanisms. Complementary tomographic techniques allow the direct 3D imaging and characterisation of complex microstructures, including the observation and quantification of dendrite growth. Here we present results from 3D x-ray and FIB-SEM tomography of Zn dendrite formation in a zinc-air battery, down to resolutions of tens of nanometers, enabling analysis of complex micro-structures. This approach is shown to be effective in understanding how electrochemical dendrites grow, and demonstrates that tomography coupled with modelling can provide new insights into dendrite growth in electrochemical systems.

Journal article

Theodorou IG, Muller KH, Chen S, Goode AE, Yufit V, Ryan MP, Porter AEet al., 2017, Silver Nanowire Particle Reactivity with Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophage Cells: Intracellular Availability of Silver Governs Their Cytotoxicity, ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING, Vol: 3, Pages: 2336-2347, ISSN: 2373-9878

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are increasingly being used in the production of optoelectronic devices, with manufacturing processes posing a risk for occupational exposures via inhalation. Although some studies have explored the environmental effects of AgNWs, few data exist on human health effects. Alveolar macrophages are central in the clearance of inhaled fibers from the lungs, with frustrated phagocytosis often stated as a key determinant for the onset of inflammatory reactions. However, the mechanisms through which fully ingested AgNWs interact with, degrade, and transform within primary macrophages over time, and whether the reactivity of the AgNWs arises due to ionic or particulate effects, or both, are poorly understood. Here, a combination of elemental quantification, 3D tomography, analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and confocal microscopy were employed to monitor the uptake, intracellular Ag+ availability, and processing of AgNWs of two different lengths (1 and 10 μm) inside human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMMs). Using AgNO3 and spherical silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as a comparison, the amount of total bioavailable/intracellular Ag highly correlated to the cytotoxicity of AgNWs. The 10 μm AgNWs were completely internalized in HMMs, with numerous lysosomal vesicles observed in close vicinity to the AgNWs. Following cellular uptake, AgNWs dissolved and transformed intracellularly, with precipitation of AgCl as well as Ag2S. These transformation processes were likely due to AgNW degradation in the acidic environment of lysosomes, leading to the release of Ag+ ions that rapidly react with Cl– and SH– species of the cell microenvironment. Our data suggest that, in HMMs, not only frustrated phagocytosis but also the extent of intracellular uptake and dissolution of AgNWs dictates their cytotoxicity.

Journal article

Bertei A, Ruiz Trejo E, Kareh K, Yufit V, Wang X, Tariq F, Brandon Net al., 2017, The fractal nature of the three-phase boundary: A heuristic approach to the degradation of nanostructured solid oxide fuel cell anodes, Nano Energy, Vol: 38, Pages: 526-536, ISSN: 2211-2855

Nickel/zirconia-based nanostructured electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells suffer from poor stability even at intermediate temperature. This study quantifies the electrochemical and microstructural degradation of nanostructured electrodes by combining 3D tomography, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and mechanistic modeling. For the first time, the electrochemical degradation of nanostructured electrodes is quantified according to the fractal nature of the three-phase boundary (TPB). Using this hypothesis an excellent match between modeling and the electrochemical response is found. The origin of the degradation in microstructure and electrochemical performance can be found in the initial fractal roughness of the TPB at a length scale not detectable with state-of-the-art tomography at 30 nm resolution. This additionally implies that the hydrogen electro-oxidation takes place within 4 nm from the geometric TPB line, revealing that the electrochemical reaction zone cannot be regarded anymore as a one-dimensional line when dealing with nanoparticles.

Journal article

Chung KF, Seiffert J, Chen S, Theodorou IG, Goode AE, Leo BF, McGilvery CM, Hussain F, Wiegman C, Rossios C, Zhu J, Gong J, Tariq F, Yufit V, Monteith AJ, Hashimoto T, Skepper JN, Ryan MP, Zhang J, Tetley TD, Porter AEet al., 2017, Inactivation, clearance, and functional effects of lung-instilled short and long silver nanowires in rats, ACS Nano, Vol: 11, Pages: 2652-2664, ISSN: 1936-086X

There is a potential for silver nanowires (AgNWs) to be inhaled, but there is little information on their health effects and their chemical transformation inside the lungs in vivo. We studied the effects of short (S-AgNWs; 1.5 μm) and long (L-AgNWs; 10 μm) nanowires instilled into the lungs of Sprague–Dawley rats. S- and L-AgNWs were phagocytosed and degraded by macrophages; there was no frustrated phagocytosis. Interestingly, both AgNWs were internalized in alveolar epithelial cells, with precipitation of Ag2S on their surface as secondary Ag2S nanoparticles. Quantitative serial block face three-dimensional scanning electron microscopy showed a small, but significant, reduction of NW lengths inside alveolar epithelial cells. AgNWs were also present in the lung subpleural space where L-AgNWs exposure resulted in more Ag+ve macrophages situated within the pleura and subpleural alveoli, compared with the S-AgNWs exposure. For both AgNWs, there was lung inflammation at day 1, disappearing by day 21, but in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), L-AgNWs caused a delayed neutrophilic and macrophagic inflammation, while S-AgNWs caused only acute transient neutrophilia. Surfactant protein D (SP-D) levels in BALF increased after S- and L-AgNWs exposure at day 7. L-AgNWs induced MIP-1α and S-AgNWs induced IL-18 at day 1. Large airway bronchial responsiveness to acetylcholine increased following L-AgNWs, but not S-AgNWs, exposure. The attenuated response to AgNW instillation may be due to silver inactivation after precipitation of Ag2S with limited dissolution. Our findings have important consequences for the safety of silver-based technologies to human health.

Journal article

Bertei A, Tariq F, Yufit V, Ruiz Trejo E, Brandon Net al., 2016, Guidelines for the rational design and engineering of 3D manufactured solid oxide fuel cell composite electrodes, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol: 164, Pages: F89-F98, ISSN: 0013-4651

The growth of 3D printing has opened the scope for designing microstructures for solid oxide fuel cells(SOFCs) with improved power density and lifetime. This technique can introduce structural modifications at a scale larger than particle size but smaller than cell size, such as by insertingelectrolyte pillars of ~5-100 µm. This study sets the minimum requirements for the rational design of 3D printedelectrodes based on an electrochemical model and analytical solutions for functional layers with negligible electronic resistanceand no mixed conduction. Results show that this structural modification enhances the power density when the ratio keffbetween effective conductivity and bulk conductivity of the ionic phase is smaller than 0.5. The maximum performance improvement is predicted as a function of keff. A design study on a wide range of pillar shapes indicates that improvements are achieved by any structural modification which provides ionic conduction up to a characteristic thickness ~10-40 µm without removing active volume at the electrolyte interface. The best performance is reached for thin (< ~2 µm) and long (> ~80 µm) pillars when the compositeelectrode is optimised for maximum three-phase boundarydensity, pointing towards the design of scaffolds with well-defined geometry and fractal structures.

Journal article

Chakrabarti BK, Nir DP, Yufit V, Tariq F, Rubio Garcia J, Maher R, Kucernak A, Aravind PV, Brandon NPet al., 2016, Studies of performance enhancement of rGO-modified carbon electrodes for Vanadium Redox Flow Systems, ChemElectroChem, Vol: 4, Pages: 194-200, ISSN: 2196-0216

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) suspended in an N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent underwent electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on carbon paper (CP) electrodes. X-ray computed micro-tomography (XMT) indicates a 24 % increase in the specific surface area of CP modified with rGO in comparison to the untreated sample. Furthermore, XMT confirms that the deposition also penetrates into the substrate. Raman analysis shows that the rGO deposited is more amorphous than the CP electrode. A significant reduction in charge-transfer resistance of the VO2+/VO2+ reaction is also observed (from impedance measurements) in modified samples in comparison to untreated CP electrodes.

Journal article

Toleuova A, Maskell WC, Yufit V, Shearing PR, Brett DJLet al., 2016, Mechanistic Studies of Liquid Metal Anode SOFCs II: Development of a Coulometric Titration Technique to Aid Reactor Design, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE, Vol: 154, Pages: 100-107, ISSN: 0009-2509

Journal article

Merla Y, Wu B, Yufit V, Brandon NP, Martinez-Botas R, Offer Get al., 2016, Extending battery life: a low-cost practical diagnostic technique for lithium-ion batteries, Journal of Power Sources, Vol: 331, Pages: 224-231, ISSN: 0378-7753

Modern applications of lithium-ion batteries such as smartphones, hybrid & electric vehicles and grid scale electricity storage demand long lifetime and high performance which typically makes them the limiting factor in a system. Understanding the state-of-health during operation is important in order to optimise for long term durability and performance. However, this requires accurate in-operando diagnostic techniques that are cost effective and practical. We present a novel diagnosis method based upon differential thermal voltammetry demonstrated on a battery pack made from commercial lithium-ion cells where one cell was deliberately aged prior to experiment. The cells were in parallel whilst being thermally managed with forced air convection. We show for the first time, a diagnosis method capable of quantitatively determining the state-of-health of four cells simultaneously by only using temperature and voltage readings for both charge and discharge. Measurements are achieved using low-cost thermocouples and a single voltage measurement at a frequency of 1 Hz, demonstrating the feasibility of implementing this approach on real world battery management systems. The technique could be particularly useful under charge when constant current or constant power is common, this therefore should be of significant interest to all lithium-ion battery users.

Journal article

Ruiz Trejo E, Puolamaa M, Sum B, Tariq F, Yufit V, Brandon NPet al., 2016, New method for the deposition of nickel oxide in porous scaffolds for electrodes in solid oxide fuel cells and electrolyzers, Chemsuschem, Vol: 10, Pages: 258-265, ISSN: 1864-564X

A simple chemical bath deposition is used to coat a complex porous ceramic scaffold with a conformal nickel layer. The resulting composite is used as a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell electrode and its electrochemical response is measured in humidified hydrogen. X-Ray tomography is used to determine microstructural parameters of the uncoated and Ni-coated porous structure, among other, the surface area to total volume, the radial pore size and size of the necks between pores.

Journal article

Bertei A, Ruiz-Trejo E, Tariq F, Yufit V, Atkinson A, Brandon NPet al., 2016, Validation of a physically-based solid oxide fuel cell anode model combining 3D tomography and impedance spectroscopy, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol: 41, Pages: 22381-22393, ISSN: 1879-3487

This study presents a physically-based model for the simulation of impedance spectra in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) composite anodes. The model takes into account the charge transport and the charge-transfer reaction at the three-phase boundary distributed along the anode thickness, as well as the phenomena at the electrode/electrolyte interface and the multicomponent gas diffusion in the test rig. The model is calibrated with experimental impedance spectra of cermet anodes made of nickel and scandia-stabilized zirconia and satisfactorily validated in electrodes with different microstructural properties, quantified through focused ion beam SEM tomography. Besides providing the material-specific kinetic parameters of the electrochemical hydrogen oxidation, this study shows that the correlation between electrode microstructure and electrochemical performance can be successfully addressed by combining physically-based modelling, impedance spectroscopy and 3D tomography. This approach overcomes the limits of phenomenological equivalent circuits and is suitable for the interpretation of experimental data and for the optimisation of the electrode microstructure.

Journal article

Biton M, Yufit V, Tariq F, Kishimoto M, Brandon NPet al., 2016, Enhanced Imaging of Lithium Ion Battery Electrode Materials, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol: 164, Pages: A6032-A6038, ISSN: 0013-4651

In this study we present a novel method of lithium ion battery electrode sample preparation with a new type of epoxy impregnation,brominated (Br) epoxy, which is introduced here for the first time for this purpose and found suitable for focused ion beam scanningelectron microscope (FIB-SEM) tomography. The Br epoxy improves image contrast, which enables higher FIB-SEM resolution (3Dimaging), which is amongst the highest ever reported for composite LFP cathodes using FIB-SEM. In turn it means that the particlesare well defined and the size distribution of each phase can be analyzed accurately from the complex 3D electrode microstructureusing advanced quantification algorithms.The authors present for the first time a new methodology of contrast enhancement for 3D imaging, including novel advancedquantification, on a commercial Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) LiFePO4 cathode. The aim of this work is to improve the quality ofthe 3D imaging of challenging battery materials by developing methods to increase contrast between otherwise previously poorlydifferentiated phases. This is necessary to enable capture of the real geometry of electrode microstructures, which allows measurementof a wide range of microstructural properties such as pore/particle size distributions, surface area, tortuosity and porosity. Theseproperties play vital roles in determining the performance of battery electrodes.

Journal article

Blanga R, Berman M, Biton M, Tariq F, Yufit V, Gladkich A, Greenbaum SG, Brandon N, Golodnitsky Det al., 2016, Peculiarities of ion transport in confined-in-ceramics concentrated polymer electrolytes, Electrochimica Acta, Vol: 208, Pages: 71-79, ISSN: 1873-3859

Polyethylene-oxide/lithium-aluminate films were deposited by electrophoretic deposition. Films impregnated with lithium iodide formed highly concentrated polymer-in-ceramic solid electrolytes. Solid-state NMR, FIB-SEM tomography with modelling, and EIS studies showed that only a few percent of the interfacial lithium in the sample is capable of inducing a fast ion-migration path in the system. We suggest that despite suppressed crystallinity of PEO confined in ceramics the ion transport in the polymer medium impedes the total conductivity of the composite electrolyte at near-ambient temperatures. After melting of the polymer and its complexes, the interfacial conduction through perpendicular LiAlO2/LiI grain boundaries becomes feasible. This, together with ion transport via molten, confined polymer electrolyte is followed by the increase of the overall conductivity of the composite system.

Journal article

Wu B, Merla Y, Yufit V, Brandon NP, Martinez-Botas R, Offer GJet al., 2016, Novel application of differential thermal voltammetry as an in-depth state-of-health diagnosis method for lithium-ion batteries, Journal of Power Sources, Vol: 307, Pages: 308-319, ISSN: 1873-2755

Understanding and tracking battery degradation mechanisms and adapting its operation have become a necessity in order to enhance battery durability. A novel use of differential thermal voltammetry (DTV) is presented as an in-situ state-of-health (SOH) estimator for lithium-ion batteries.Accelerated ageing experiments were carried on 5Ah commercial lithium-ion polymer cells operated and stored at different temperature and loading conditions. The cells were analysed regularly with various existing in-situ diagnosis methods and the novel DTV technique to determine their SOH. The diagnosis results were used collectively to elaborate the degradation mechanisms inside the cells. The DTV spectra were decoupled into individual peaks, which each represent particular phases in the negative and positive electrode combined. The peak parameters were used to quantitatively analyse the battery SOH.A different cell of the same chemistry with unknown degradation history was then analysed to explore how the cell degraded. The DTV technique was able to diagnose the cell degradation without relying on supporting results from other methods nor previous cycling data.

Journal article

Parkes MA, Chen T, Wu B, Yufit V, Offer GJet al., 2015, “can” you really make a battery out of that?, Journal of Chemical Education, Vol: 93, Pages: 681-686, ISSN: 1938-1328

This classroom activity introduces students to battery electrochemistry through the construction of a simple battery made from household products. Students will use a set of simple design rules to improve the performance of the battery, and power a light emitting diode. The electrochemical performance of the batteries is characterized using potentiostatic cyclic voltammetry and chronoampometry, and suggestions for implementing this activity into a high school teaching environment are presented. Designed for United Kingdom secondary schools and exam boards, the supplementary teaching package contains problem sheets and activities appropriate for students age 14 and up.

Journal article

Dewage HH, Yufit V, Brandon NP, 2015, Study of Loss Mechanisms Using Half-Cell Measurements in a Regenerative Hydrogen Vanadium Fuel Cell, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol: 163, Pages: A5236-A5243, ISSN: 0013-4651

The positioning of reference electrodes in redox flow batteries without disturbing the cell operation represents a great challenge. However decoupling anode and cathode processes is crucial in order to fully understand the losses in the system so it can be further optimized. The feasibility of a regenerative fuel cell based on an V(IV)/V(V) electrolyte and hydrogen gas has previously been demonstrated. In this investigation, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the various losses of the cathode, anode and whole cell were established using an alternative reference electrode set-up. The findings showed that the largest irreversible losses under the conditions tested arose from diffusion limitations in the cathode and the effect of vanadium crossover and therefore adsorption onto the platinum layer of the hydrogen electrode leading to higher losses on the anode. These results highlight the potential for further improvement and optimization of cell design and materials for both electrodes in the Regenerative Hydrogen Vanadium Fuel Cell.

Journal article

Hewa Dewage HARINI, wu BILLY, Tsoi ANTHONY, Yufit VLADIMIR, Offer GREGORY, Brandon NIGELet al., 2015, A novel regenerative hydrogen cerium fuel cell for energy storage applications, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol: 3, Pages: 9446-9450, ISSN: 2050-7496

A novel regenerative hydrogen cerium fuel cell is presented which has the potential to deliver both low cost and high performance. A 5 cm2 prototype is demonstrated, achieving 148 mW cm−2 when fully charged. Rate determining processes within the cell are identified.

Journal article

Wu B, Yufit V, Merla Y, Martinez-Botas RF, Brandon NP, Offer GJet al., 2015, Differential thermal voltammetry for tracking of degradation in lithium-ion batteries, Journal of Power Sources, Vol: 273, Pages: 495-501, ISSN: 0378-7753

Monitoring of lithium-ion batteries is of critical importance in electric vehicle applications in order to manage the operational condition of the cells. Measurements on a vehicle often involve current, voltage and temperature which enable in-situ diagnostic techniques. This paper presents a novel diagnostic technique, termed differential thermal voltammetry, which is capable of monitoring the state of the battery using voltage and temperature measurements in galvanostatic operating modes. This tracks battery degradation through phase transitions, and the resulting entropic heat, occurring in the electrodes. Experiments to monitor battery degradation using the new technique are compared with a pseudo-2D cell model. Results show that the differential thermal voltammetry technique provides information comparable to that of slow rate cyclic voltammetry at shorter timescale and with load conditions easier to replicate in a vehicle.

Journal article

Tariq F, Kishimoto M, Cui G, Yufit V, Lomberg M, Ruiz-Trejo E, Chen Z, Brandon NPet al., 2015, Advanced 3D imaging and analysis of SOFC electrodes, Pages: 2067-2074, ISSN: 1938-6737

An ability to meet our increasing energy demands will be facilitated though improving the next generation of electrochemical devices. The ability to directly image in 3D and analyse solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrodes at high resolutions provides key insights in understanding structure-property relationships; as electrochemical reactions and transport phenomena are strongly affected by complex microstructure. Here we use tomographic techniques to probe 3D electrode structures at nanometer to micrometer length scales. In doing so the first characterisation of specific necks and interfaces alongside their particle sizes within SOFC electrodes is derived. Micro/nano structural changes are followed to facilitate understanding the differences which occur with shape, structures and morphology at high resolution. These are correlated with both measured experimental values and simulations to provide insight into microstructure-property relationships. We also demonstrate approaches to intelligently design electrodes through scaffolds, and potentially 3D printed structures, all towards optimising the structure for performance.

Conference paper

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