Energy Related Devices and Their Chemical Components Batteries, Fuel Cells, Photovoltaic Cells and Supercapacitors

Paul O. Abbe® has provided many U.S. and international research facilities and manufacturing companies with size reduction mills, vacuum dryer/reactors, solids blenders and sigma blade mixers for processing many of the chemicals used in batteries, battery and capacitor construction (esp. silicone), fuel cells, photovoltaic (solar) cells and supercapacitors.

Batteries - There are two broad categories of batteries; primary batteries which utilize non-reversable reactions and are not rechargeable and secondary batteries which use reversable chemical reactions and are rechargeable.

Primary (non-rechargeable):
• Zinc – Carbon
• Magnesium (Mg/MnO2)
• Mercury (Zn/HgO)
• Alkaline (Zn/Alkaline/MnO2)
• Silver/Zinc (Zn/Ag2O)
• Lithium/Soluble Cathode
• Lithium/Solid Cathode
• Lithium/Solid Electrolyte

Secondary (rechargeable):
• Lead – Acid Batteries
• Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd) Batteries
• Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries
• Lithium-Ion Batteries
• Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LiFePO4)
• Lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4)
• Lithium bis(oxatlato)borate (LiBOB)
• Lithium Manganese Oxide (LiMn2O4)
• Vanadium V2O5 redox
• Vanadium redox (Vanadium/Bromine)
• Vanadium flow
• Vanadium redox flow

Fuel cells are electrochemical cells that convert the chemical energy of a fuel (hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. There are twenty-three designs of fuel cells.

Following is a list of fuel cell types and the associated electrolytes.
• Metal hydride fuel cell, aqueous alkaline solution
• Electro-galvanic fuel cell, aqueous alkaline solution
• Direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC), polymer membrane (ionomer)
• Zinc–air battery, aqueous alkaline solution
• Microbial fuel cell, polymer membrane or humic acid
• Up flow microbial fuel cell (UMFC), n/a
• Regenerative fuel cell, polymer membrane (ionomer)
• Direct borohydride fuel cell, aqueous alkaline solution
• Alkaline fuel cell, aqueous alkaline solution
• Direct methanol fuel cell, polymer membrane (ionomer)
• Reformed methanol fuel cell, polymer membrane (ionomer)
• Direct-ethanol fuel cell, polymer membrane (ionomer)
• Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell, polymer membrane (ionomer)
• Redox fuel cell (RFC), liquid electrolytes with redox shuttle and polymer membrane (ionomer)
• Phosphoric acid fuel cell, molten phosphoric acid (H3PO4)
• Solid acid fuel cell, H+-conducting oxyanion salt (solid acid)
• Molten carbonate fuel cell, molten alkaline carbonate
• Tubular solid oxide fuel cell (TSOFC), O2−-conducting ceramic oxide
• Protonic ceramic fuel cell, H+-conducting ceramic oxide
• Direct carbon fuel cell, various
• Planar solid oxide fuel cell, O2−-conducting ceramic oxide
• Enzymatic biofuel cells, any that will not denature the enzyme
• Magnesium-air fuel cell, salt water

Photovoltaic (Solar) Cells and Semi-Conductor Materials – Pure silicon is used as the base for doping or the introduction of impurities into an intrinsic semiconductor for the purpose of modulating its electrical, optical and structural properties. Doping agents include Boron, Gallium, Aluminum, Phosphorous, Arsenic, Antimony, Bismuth, Lithium, Germanium, Gold and Platinum.

• Monocrystalline Silicon, a.k.a. single-crystal silicon, mono-silicon or mc-Si
• Polycrystalline Silicon, a.k.a. multi-crystalline silicon, mc-Si, polysilicon or poly-Si

Precursors to crystalline silicon:

• Silane (SiH4)
• Trichlorosilane (SiHCl3)
• Magnesium Silicide, Mg2Si,

Supercapacitors (a.k.a. ultracapacitors) are high-capacity capacitors with a capacitance value higher than standard electrolytic capacitors, but with lower voltage limits. They bridge the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries. Supercapacitors can store 10 to 100 times more energy per unit volume than electrolytic capacitors, can accept and deliver charge faster than batteries, and tolerates more charge and discharge cycles than rechargeable batteries.

• allotrope of carbon
• activated carbon
• carbon aerogel (xerogel, cryogel, hydrogel)
• graphite
• graphene
• graphane
• carbon nanotubes
• conductive polymers (polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polyindole, polyaniline, poly(p-phenylene vinylene)