Effect of 1-Octanethiol as an electrolyte additive on the performance of the iron-air battery electrodes

Abstract

It has recently been established that 1-octanethiol in the electrolyte can allow iron-electrodes to be discharged at higher rates. However, the effect of thiol additives on the air-electrode, has not yet been studied. The effect of solvated thiols on the surface positive electrode reaction is of prime importance if these are to be used in an iron-air battery. This work shows that the air-electrode catalyst is poisoned by the presence of octanethiol, with the oxygen reduction overpotential at the air-electrode increasing with time of exposure to the solution and increased 1-octanethiol concentration in the range 0-0.1 mol dm-3. Post-mortem XPS analysis were performed over the used air-electrodes suggesting the adsorption of sulphur-species over the catalyst surface, reducing its performance. Therefore, although sulphur-based additives may be suitable for nickel-iron batteries they are not recommended for iron-air batteries except in concentrations well below 10 ×10-3 mol dm-3.

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ORCID for C. Ponce De Leon: orcid.org/0000-0002-1907-5913

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