Characterisation and application of the Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox reaction in an ionic liquid analogue

Highlights: • The Fe(II)/Fe(III) reaction is shown to be facile using a wall-jet electrode and RDE. • Deposition/stripping of iron has equally slow kinetics as in aqueous systems. • An IL based all-iron RFB is reported for the first time, energy efficiency is 37%. • An Zn–Fe complex is shown to form. In an RFB this gives an energy efficiency of 78%. • Problems resulting from the use of redox probes and urea-based DES are demonstrated. -- Abstract: In this paper we report the properties of the Fe(II)/Fe(III) reaction in a deep eutectic solvent based on choline chloride and ethylene glycol. This reaction is shown to be facile using a wall-jet electrode and rotating disc electrode. The deposition and stripping of iron exhibits equally slow kinetics as in aqueous systems. Using these two reactions an all-iron redox flow battery based on ionic liquids is reported for the first time. An energy efficiency of 37% is attained at a current density of 0.5 mA cm−2. A Zn(II)–Fe(II) complex is shown to form when zinc is oxidized by Fe(III). When this complex is applied in a redox flow battery energy efficiencies of 78% are achieved at a current density of 0.5 mA cm−2