Volume and/or weight savings in mobile devices, electric/hybrid ground transport and aircraft are critical design drivers. One approach to improve the system level specific energy is by adding electrical energy storing capability to structural components, making multifunctional materials.1,2 However, commercialized batteries and supercapacitors, traditional energy storage devices, are typically rigid and heavy due to the currently used fabrication techniques based on the slurry-casting method and traditional configuration.3 The application of organic redox-active polymers as electrode materials has attracted remarkable attention owing to their flexibility, low cost, recyclability, fast response (&lt;101–3 s), capacity (&gt;102 mAh g−1), and capability for tuning the redox potential.4 In this study, we hybridize two aromatic carbonyl derivative polymers with carbon-based materials to improve the efficiency of energy storage devices by compensating for the low polymer conductivity, contributing electrical double-layer capacitance, and improving the mechanical properties of the electrodes. These materials are discussed in terms of their physico-chemical, mechanical and electrochemical properties (Figure 1), before being used as electrodes in aqueous batteries. The aqueous electrolyte provides greater safety, much lower cost, higher power density, and much faster recharge rate due to more efficient ion transport. The hybrid cathode provides 4 times higher gravimetric capacity than the unmodified carbon-based material.

Redox-active polymers for structural energy storage

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.