A Comparative Study of Nafion 212 and Sulfonated Poly(Ether Ether Ketone) Membranes with Different Degrees of Sulfonation on the Performance of Iron-Chromium Redox Flow Battery

For an iron-chromium redox flow battery (ICRFB), sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membranes with five various degrees of sulfonation (DSs) are studied. To select the SPEEK membrane with the ideal DS for ICRFB applications, the physicochemical characteristics and single-cell performance are taken into consideration. Following all the investigations, it has been determined that the SPEEK membrane, which has a DS of 57% and a thin thickness of 25 μm, is the best option for replacing commercial Nafion 212 in ICRFB. Firstly, it exhibits a better cell performance according to energy efficiency (EE) and coulombic efficiency (CE) at the current density range between 40 mA cm−2 and 80 mA cm−2. Additionally, it has a more stable EE (79.25–81.64%) and lower discharge capacity decay rate (50%) than the Nafion 212 (EE: 76.74–81.45%, discharge capacity decay: 76%) after 50 charge–discharge cycles, which proves its better oxidation stability as well. In addition, the longer self-discharge time during the open-circuit voltage test further demonstrates that this SPEEK membrane could be employed for large-scale ICRFB applications.