Transient Mechanism Analysis of Three-Dimensional Zinc-Nickel Single Flow Battery Based on Different Negative Electrode Structures

On the basis of the mass, momentum, charge conservation equations, in addition to coupled with the global reaction kinetic equations, a transient three-dimensional mechanistic analytical model of zinc-nickel single flow batteries (ZNBs), which comprehensively takes into account the hydrogen and oxygen evolution side reactions, the polarization distribution, as well as the structural effects of the pole lugs, is developed in this paper. After grid independence validation and experimental verification, the polarization distribution, side-reaction current density, and battery efficiency of ZNBs at high current density and multiple cycles of charging and discharging were comparatively analyzed based on this model with different anode materials of nickel sheet (NS) and porous nickel foam (NF). Subsequently, the effects of changes in negative electrode porous nickel foam thickness and porosity on battery polarization, side-reaction current density and battery efficiency were further investigated. Finally, the performance of the battery under the optimal battery state was studied. The results showed that the NF negative electrode effectively reduced the battery polarization, suppressed the battery side reactions as well as improved the battery efficiency under high current density and multiple cycles of charging and discharging, which improved the efficiency and stability of the battery.