Experiments with Liquid Metal Battery Cells
Our battery lab enables the electrochemical investigation of liquid metal electrodes and molten salt electrolytes.
Scheme of a liquid metal battery cell
Foto: ©Michael Nimtz
For experiments, small cells are build and tested under argon atmosphere in the glove box or in a real environment in the laboratory.
Our lab devices include:
- Double preparation- and testing box (glovebox with controlled temperature and regeneration system: O2/H2O<0,1ppm)
- Mass spectrometer with capillary inlet in the glovebox
- High-temperature/ultra-high-vacuum recipient for preparation and experiments
- Laser-induced breakdown spectrometer (Aryell200 optics)
- Laboratory furnaces
- Potentiostates
- Keithley Sourcemeter
The electrochemical experiments and the development of liquid metal batteries include:
- Optimization of electrode pairing
- Testing of low melting salt mixtures
- Testing of material combinations of electrodes/electrolytes/collectors/isolators
- In-situ measurement of gas evolution (during cell cycling or melting salt mixtures)
- Long term cycling of cells
- Development of cell housings
- Corrosion studies
- In operando X-ray and neutron imaging
Corrosion
Corrosion is investigated especially in molten salts. Electrochemical approaches are used together with ICP-MS, REM-EDX and others.
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Radiography of liquid metal batteries
Neutrons and X-rays are used to visualize processes in liquid metal batteries. Cells imaging is performed in operando at temperatures exceeding 600°C.
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Battery engineering
An optimized cell design is fundamental for a long lifetime of a liquid metal battery.
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Publications
- Nash, W.; Sarma, M.; Lappan, T.; Trtik, P.; Solem, C. K. W.; Wang, Z.; Duczek, C.; Béltran, A.; Weber, N.; Weier, T.
Diaphragm performance of high-temperature Na–Zn cells evaluated by neutron imaging
Journal of Energy Storage 114(2025) 115542 - Duczek, C.; Horstmann, G. M.; Ding, W.; Einarsrud, K. E.; Gelfgat, A. Y.; Godinez-Brizuela, O. E.; Kjos, O. S.; Landgraf, S.; Lappan, T.; Monrrabal, G.; Nash, W.; Personnettaz, P.; Sarma, M.; Sommerseth, C.; Trtik, P.; Weber, N.; Weier, T.
Fluid mechanics of Na-Zn liquid metal batteries
Applied Physics Reviews 11(2024), 041326 - Sarma, M.; Lee, J.; Nash, W.; Lappan, T.; Shevchenko, N.; Landgraf, S.; Monrrabal, G.; Trtik, P.; Weber, N.; Weier, T.
Reusable cell design for high-temperature (600°C) liquid metal battery cycling
Journal of the Electrochemical Society 171(2024) 040531 - Godinez-Brizuela, O. E.; Duczek, C., Weber, N.; Nash, W.; Sarma, M.; Einarsrud, K. E.
A continuous multiphase model for liquid metal batteries
Journal of Energy Storage 73(2023) 109147 - Kumar, S.; Ding, W.; Hoffmann, R.; Sieuw, L.; Heinz, M. V. F.; Weber, N.; Bonk, A.
AlCl3-NaCl-ZnCl2 secondary electrolyte in next-generation ZEBRA (Na-ZnCl2) battery
Batteries 9(2023) 401 - Lee, J.; Monrrabal, G.; Sarma, M.; Lappan, T.; Hofstetter, Y. J.; Trtik, P.; Landgraf, S.; Ding, W.; Kumar, S.; Vaynzof, Y.; Weber, N.; Weier, T.
Membrane-Free Alkali Metal-Iodide Battery with a Molten Salt
Energy Technology 11(2023) 2300051 - Mushtaq, K.; Zhao, J.; Weber, N.; Mendes, A.; Sadoway, D.R.
Self-discharge mitigation in a liquid metal displacement battery
Journal of Energy Chemistry 66(2022) 390-396 - Bénard, S.; Weber, N.; Horstmann, G.M.; Landgraf, S.; Weier, T.
Anode-metal drop formation and detachment mechanisms in liquid metal batteries
Journal of Power Sources 510(2021) 230339 - Personnettaz, P.; Landgraf, S.; Nimtz, M.; Weber, N.; Weier, T.
Mass transport induced asymmetry in charge/discharge behavior of liquid metal batteries
Electrochemistry Communications 105(2019) 106496 - Weber, N.; Landgraf, S.; Mushtaq, K.; Nimtz, M.; Personnettaz, P.; Weier, T.; Zhao, J.; Sadoway, D.
Modeling discontinuous potential distributions using the finite volume method, and application to liquid metal batteries
Electrochimica Acta 318(2019) 857-864 - Weier, T.; Bund, A.; El-Mofid, W.; Horstmann, G.M.; Lalau, C.-C.; Landgraf, S.; Nimtz, M.; Starace, M.; Stefani, F.; Weber, N.
Liquid metal batteries - materials selection and fluid dynamics
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 228(2017), 012013 - Stefani, F.; Galindo, V.; Kasprzyk, C.; Landgraf, S.; Seilmayer, M.; Starace, M.; Weber, N.; Weier, T.
Magnetohydrodynamic effects in liquid metal batteries
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 143(2016), 012024 - Lalau, C.-C.; Bund, A.; Ispas, A.; Weier, T.
Sodium-bismuth-lead low temperature liquid metal battery
Journal of Electrochemistry and Plating Technology JEPT-4808 (2015)