Conducting (flowable) suspension electrodes for water and energy technologies

Suspension-based (or semi-solid) electrodes have recently gain increased attention for large-scale applications such as grid energy storage, water deionization, and wastewater treatment. A suspension electrode is a multiphase material system comprised of an active (charge-storing) material suspended in an electrolyte. This principle enables the scalability of small-scale energy storage devices (batteries, supercapacitors,and hybrid-redox systems). Effective material utilization in a suspension electrode is highly dependent on achieving electrical percolation within a flowable electrode. Herein, we describe a novel method for visualizing electrical percolation pathways in a suspension electrode and describe the ongoing material's and rheological challenges facing flow-electrode systems.