Redox flow batteries are an attractive option for large scale energy storage, and redox active Al complexes present a viable option for this application. However, previously published complexes of Al generally show irreversible redox events and low stability in highly coordinating, polar solvents such as acetonitrile and water.1,2 We have found that coordinatively saturated Al(III) complexes are stable in MeCN and Water, and in this poster I will present complexes with electron donating ligands that were designed to increase inter-ligand electron delocalization relative to those that do not contain electron donating ligands. In this context, we describe herein the synthesis and characterization of an Al complex with octahedral geometry about Al (Chart 1, X = H). We employed single crystal X-ray analysis (XRD), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) to examine the degree of electron delocalization between ligands. Each ligand has a 2- and 1- charge, respectively, but is best described as Class III mixed-valent.3 A new synthetic method to the ligand containing X = NMe2 will also be discussed, where an NMe2 is incorporated into the pyridyl backbone (Chart 1).

Redox Active Al(III) complexes: Electron donating ligands to improve charge transfer

2019 Spring National Meeting

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