Trichome-like Carbon-Metal Fabrics Made of Carbon Microfibers, Carbon Nanotubes, and Fe-Based Nanoparticles as Electrodes for Regenerative Hydrogen/Vanadium Flow Cells

Regenerative hydrogen/vanadium flow cells (RHVFCs) require electrode architectures combining electrochemical, catalytic, and mechanical properties across nano-, micro-, and milliscales. The use of current carbon-based electrodes can lead to poor electrolyte utilization, slow kinetics, and rapid electrode deterioration, resulting in suboptimal electrochemical performance and hindering RHVFC’s commercial viability. To address this, we here demonstrate the application of trichome-like carbon-metal fabrics (CMFs) made of carbon microfibers, carbon nanotubes, and iron-based nanoparticles as both a catalytic layer and electrode in RHVFCs by evaluating their key figures of merit. CMFs in combination with commercial carbon cloth not only offer a high power density ∼645 mW cm–2 (∼0.82 V) but also excellent cycling performance at 150 mA cm–2, yielding nearly 100% energy efficiency and a high average discharge capacity of ∼23 Ah L–1 (∼90% electrolyte utilization). These electrochemical results together with electrode microstructural features assessed by X-ray tomography and projected cost analysis represent a step change in the design and development of tailored electrodes capable of withstanding RHVFC cycling conditions without compromising electrochemical performance.