Nonfluorinated membrane with a decentralized ion-transport network enables efficient and sustainable polysulfide redox flow batteries

Feiran Wang; Shuang Luo; Jiafeng Lei; Fei Ai; Ka Lok Leung; Jun Fan; Yi-Chun Lu

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aea0032

Nonfluorinated membrane with a decentralized ion-transport network enables efficient and sustainable polysulfide redox flow batteries

Feiran Wang
, Shuang Luo
, Jiafeng Lei
, Fei Ai
, Ka Lok Leung
, Jun Fan
, Yi-Chun Lu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Polysulfide-based redox flow batteries are promising for long-duration energy storage, owing to ultralow-cost/earth-abundant active materials and full decoupling of power and energy. However, their practical application has been prevented by poor cycle life resulting from polysulfide crossover and a heavy reliance on costly fluorinated membranes (Nafion 117, USD $800 to $3500 per square meter), along with the environmental concerns. Here, we develop a nonfluorinated sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES)–based membrane with decentralized ion-transport channels, achieving a 20 times higher ionic selectivity at a markedly reduced cost (USD $12 to $66 per square meter) compared to the commercial Nafion membrane. The low-cost SPES-based membrane enabled stable cycling of polysulfide-ferrocyanide redox flow batteries with a high coulombic efficiency (>99.9%) and energy efficiency (average >75%) for 1600 cycles (>6 months). This strategy demonstrated polysulfide-based redox flow batteries with a record longevity using a low-cost and sustainable membrane, paving the way for their practical commercialization.

© 2025 the Authors, some rights reserved

Original language	English
Article number	eaea0032
Number of pages	13
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	11
Issue number	45
Online published	5 Nov 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea0032
Publication status	Published - 7 Nov 2025

Funding

The work described in this paper was supported by grants from the Research Grant Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (project nos. RFS2223-4S03, CUHK 14302823, CUHK 14310124, and C1017-22G) and City University of Hong Kong Projects 7006111 and 7020112.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

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This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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RGC-funded

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title = "Nonfluorinated membrane with a decentralized ion-transport network enables efficient and sustainable polysulfide redox flow batteries",

abstract = "Polysulfide-based redox flow batteries are promising for long-duration energy storage, owing to ultralow-cost/earth-abundant active materials and full decoupling of power and energy. However, their practical application has been prevented by poor cycle life resulting from polysulfide crossover and a heavy reliance on costly fluorinated membranes (Nafion 117, USD \$800 to \$3500 per square meter), along with the environmental concerns. Here, we develop a nonfluorinated sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES)–based membrane with decentralized ion-transport channels, achieving a 20 times higher ionic selectivity at a markedly reduced cost (USD \$12 to \$66 per square meter) compared to the commercial Nafion membrane. The low-cost SPES-based membrane enabled stable cycling of polysulfide-ferrocyanide redox flow batteries with a high coulombic efficiency (>99.9\%) and energy efficiency (average >75\%) for 1600 cycles (>6 months). This strategy demonstrated polysulfide-based redox flow batteries with a record longevity using a low-cost and sustainable membrane, paving the way for their practical commercialization. {\textcopyright} 2025 the Authors, some rights reserved",

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T1 - Nonfluorinated membrane with a decentralized ion-transport network enables efficient and sustainable polysulfide redox flow batteries

AU - Wang, Feiran

AU - Luo, Shuang

AU - Lei, Jiafeng

AU - Ai, Fei

AU - Leung, Ka Lok

AU - Fan, Jun

AU - Lu, Yi-Chun

PY - 2025/11/7

Y1 - 2025/11/7

N2 - Polysulfide-based redox flow batteries are promising for long-duration energy storage, owing to ultralow-cost/earth-abundant active materials and full decoupling of power and energy. However, their practical application has been prevented by poor cycle life resulting from polysulfide crossover and a heavy reliance on costly fluorinated membranes (Nafion 117, USD $800 to $3500 per square meter), along with the environmental concerns. Here, we develop a nonfluorinated sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES)–based membrane with decentralized ion-transport channels, achieving a 20 times higher ionic selectivity at a markedly reduced cost (USD $12 to $66 per square meter) compared to the commercial Nafion membrane. The low-cost SPES-based membrane enabled stable cycling of polysulfide-ferrocyanide redox flow batteries with a high coulombic efficiency (>99.9%) and energy efficiency (average >75%) for 1600 cycles (>6 months). This strategy demonstrated polysulfide-based redox flow batteries with a record longevity using a low-cost and sustainable membrane, paving the way for their practical commercialization. © 2025 the Authors, some rights reserved

AB - Polysulfide-based redox flow batteries are promising for long-duration energy storage, owing to ultralow-cost/earth-abundant active materials and full decoupling of power and energy. However, their practical application has been prevented by poor cycle life resulting from polysulfide crossover and a heavy reliance on costly fluorinated membranes (Nafion 117, USD $800 to $3500 per square meter), along with the environmental concerns. Here, we develop a nonfluorinated sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES)–based membrane with decentralized ion-transport channels, achieving a 20 times higher ionic selectivity at a markedly reduced cost (USD $12 to $66 per square meter) compared to the commercial Nafion membrane. The low-cost SPES-based membrane enabled stable cycling of polysulfide-ferrocyanide redox flow batteries with a high coulombic efficiency (>99.9%) and energy efficiency (average >75%) for 1600 cycles (>6 months). This strategy demonstrated polysulfide-based redox flow batteries with a record longevity using a low-cost and sustainable membrane, paving the way for their practical commercialization. © 2025 the Authors, some rights reserved

UR - https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001608099100014

U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.aea0032

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aea0032

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 41191745

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 11

JO - Science Advances

JF - Science Advances

IS - 45

M1 - eaea0032

ER -

Nonfluorinated membrane with a decentralized ion-transport network enables efficient and sustainable polysulfide redox flow batteries

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