Alternative renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are expanding; however, they are intermittent energy sources. Therefore, load leveling devices are needed to provide energy under periods of high demand and to store excess energy when renewable energy production exceeds its consumption. To address this load leveling need, redox flow batteries (RFBs) have gained significant attention<br/>whereby a relatively small stack is able to charge or discharge external reservoirs of redox-active chemicals. An added benefit of RFBs in transportation applications (i.e. RFB-powered vehicles) is the ability to rapidly recharge the RFB by exchanging the discharged electrolytes with charged replacements. This paper will detail the design, synthesis and characterization of novel redox polymers for high performance and high stability energy applications. Specifically, this paper will focus on designing, synthesizing and characterizing a novel redox polymer (N-benzyl-N'-propyl-4,4'-bipyridinium-modified linear poly(ethylenimine) benzylpropylviologen (BPV)-LPEI) which can be used directly as an electrolyte in a redox flow battery or can be coupled with a NAD/NADH dependent enzyme (diaphorase, DH), to facilitate the inter-conversion of NAD/NADH at a carbon electrode by mediated electron transfer. Since NAD/NADH inter-conversion was observed at a carbon electrode modified with BPV-LPEI and DH, the talk will conclude with the conceptual demonstration of the first enzymatic RFB (ERFB).

Designing organic redox polymers for energy applications including redox flow batteries

256th National Meeting (2018)

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