The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 12, 2016
Filed:
Nov. 05, 2012
Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, WA (US);
Bin Li, Richland, WA (US);
Xiaoliang Wei, Richland, WA (US);
Qingtao Luo, Richland, WA (US);
Zimin Nie, Richland, WA (US);
Wei Wang, Kennewick, WA (US);
Vincent L. Sprenkle, Richland, WA (US);
Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, WA (US);
Abstract
Composite separators having a porous structure and including acid-stable, hydrophilic, inorganic particles enmeshed in a substantially fully fluorinated polyolefin matrix can be utilized in a number of applications. The inorganic particles can provide hydrophilic characteristics. The pores of the separator result in good selectivity and electrical conductivity. The fluorinated polymeric backbone can result in high chemical stability. Accordingly, one application of the composite separators is in redox flow batteries as low cost membranes. In such applications, the composite separator can also enable additional property-enhancing features compared to ion-exchange membranes. For example, simple capacity control can be achieved through hydraulic pressure by balancing the volumes of electrolyte on each side of the separator. While a porous separator can also allow for volume and pressure regulation, in RFBs that utilize corrosive and/or oxidizing compounds, the composite separators described herein are preferable for their robustness in the presence of such compounds.