A sustainable approach to power cathodic prevention system: cement-based electrolytes with conductive and mineral additives for battery applications

Abstract

Cement-based battery system is an area of development that focuses on multi-functional building material, where the cement and its ionic conductivity are explored for potential application in devising energy storage devices. This could be a revolutionary concept whereby the buildings could harness/store their own energy, thus contributing to a sustainable construction option. Certain low-power operations like corrosion prevention, powering LEDs and sensors associated with structural health monitoring systems are some of the application fronts for these battery systems. This paper presents an investigation into a cement-based electrolyte matrix incorporating ionic and electronic conductive particles as additives, along with various supplementary cementitious materials. The performance of the developed battery systems is assessed based on the evolution of open circuit voltage (OCV), constant current discharge behaviour, lifespan, and capacity. Silica fume, the finest of the binder portion in the study at 5%, along with epsom salt at 12% as a conductive additive in the electrolyte mix improved the performance of the cement-based battery system exhibiting an OCV of 1.41 V, an operating voltage of 1.02 V, initial power density of 48 µW/cm2, discharge life of 322 s and a capacity of 0.067mAh. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.