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Highly reduced and protonated aqueous solutions of [P2W18O62]6− for on-demand hydrogen generation and energy storage

Nature Chemistry volume 10, pages 1042–1047 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

As our reliance on renewable energy sources grows, so too does our need to store this energy to mitigate against troughs in supply. Energy storage in batteries or by conversion to chemical fuels are the two most flexible and scalable options, but are normally considered mutually exclusive. Energy storage solutions that can act as both batteries and fuel generation devices (depending on the requirements of the user) could therefore revolutionize the uptake and use of renewably generated energy. Here, we present a polyoxoanion, [P2W18O62]6−, that can be reversibly reduced and protonated by 18 electrons/H+ per anion in aqueous solution, and that can act either as a high-performance redox flow battery electrolyte (giving a practical discharged energy density of 225 Wh l−1 with a theoretical energy density of more than 1,000 Wh l−1), or as a mediator in an electrolytic cell for the on-demand generation of hydrogen.

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Fig. 1: Structure and basic electrochemistry of [P2W18O62]6−.
Fig. 2: Reversible multi-electron redox chemistry of [P2W18O62]6−.
Fig. 3: Hydrogen production, on demand, from solutions of reduced polyoxometallates.
Fig. 4: Application of Li6[P2W18O62] in a redox flow battery.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Q. Zheng (University of Glasgow) for assistance with mass spectrometry and NMR. M.D.S. thanks the Royal Society for a University Research Fellowship. The authors acknowledge funding from the EPSRC (grant nos. EP/H024107/1, EP/J00135X/1, EP/J015156/1, EP/K021966/1, EP/K023004/1 and EP/L023652/1), the EC (318671 MICREAGENTS) and ERC (project 670467 SMART-POM).

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  1. WestCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Jia-Jia Chen, Mark D. Symes & Leroy Cronin

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  1. Jia-Jia Chen
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L.C. conceived the concept and, together, L.C., J.J.C. and M.D.S. expanded the hypothesis, planned experiments and wrote the paper. J.J.C. performed all the electrochemistry experiments and analysis.

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Correspondence to Mark D. Symes or Leroy Cronin.

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Supplementary Methods, Supplementary Characterization, Supplementary Data, Supplementary Figures 1–26, Supplementary Tables 1–5

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Chen, JJ., Symes, M.D. & Cronin, L. Highly reduced and protonated aqueous solutions of [P2W18O62]6− for on-demand hydrogen generation and energy storage. Nature Chem 10, 1042–1047 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-018-0109-5

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