Experimental investigation on cenosphere-based paper battery and electrochemical battery

ABSTRACT

Fly-ash is a by-product of various thermal power plants. The utilization of fly-ash is a big concern in the current scenario as its production rate is much higher than its consumption rate. Cenosphere is one of the most value-added fractions of coal fly-ash. It has a hollow spherical structure and can be applied in many industrial applications, due to its superior properties, such as low bulk density, good thermal resistance, high strength, etc. The present work deals with the usage of fly-ash cenosphere to develop the paper battery and electrochemical battery. The study demonstrates the process of chemical deposition of Cu-ion on cenosphere by electro-less plating technique using silver-nitrate as an activator. Subsequently, metal-ion-coated cenosphere is used for developing the paper battery and electrochemical battery; testing is done by measuring the open circuit voltage (OCV) and by analyzing the discharge curves of battery. The present work analyzes various factors and characteristics affecting the performance of developed batteries.

The objective of present work is to explore the applications of low-cost materials like cenosphere, ordinary paper, cotton-balls and aluminum powder for developing thinner batteries like paper battery. The results confirm that the copper-ion-coated cenosphere can be successfully applied for developing electrochemical battery.

KEYWORDS:

• Cenosphere
• paper battery
• electro-less plating
• open circuit voltage (OCV)
• discharge curve

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Future Scope

Further extensive research is needed to conceive the idea of Cu-ion-coated cenosphere battery to make it commercialized. It is felt that there is a need for improvement in areas such as improvisation in basic structure of battery, size reduction, and enhancement of OCV and assessment of various evaluation parameters.

Acknowledgments

This research has received the financial grant from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), A statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi (Project No. EEQ/2016/000835 dated: 26/05/2017). The authors wish to express gratitude to Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur for providing infrastructural and other necessary facilities to carry out this research