Researchers develop new organic materials for the next generation of energy storage equipment in the chemical industry

As the modern world increasingly relies on energy storage devices, implementing sustainable battery technology has become increasingly important. This technology is more environmentally friendly, easy to dispose of, relies only on rich elements, and is affordable. A new report by Skoltech researchers describes an organic material used in next-generation energy storage devices, whose structure follows elegant molecular design principles. The report was recently published in the journal ACS Energy Applied Materials and became the cover story of the magazine.

Organic batteries are an ideal candidate for achieving this goal. Organic cathode materials that store a large amount of energy per unit of mass can be quickly charged, durable, and easy to mass produce, but they have not yet been developed. To address this issue, researchers from Skoltech have proposed a simple oxidation-reduction active polyimide. It is synthesized by heating a mixture of aromatic dianhydride and meta phenylenediamine, both of which are easily obtainable reagents. This material exhibits promising characteristics in various types of energy storage devices, such as lithium, sodium, and potassium based batteries. It has a high specific capacity (up to about 140 mAh/g), a relatively high redox potential, as well as good cycling stability (up to 1000 cycles) and fast charging ability (<1 minute).

The energy and power output of this new material is superior to its previously known isomer, which comes from p-phenylenediamine. Firstly, it has smaller particles and a higher surface area, which makes it easier for the charge carrier to diffuse. Secondly, the spatial arrangement of adjacent imide units in the polymer allows metal ions to bind more energetically, which increases the redox potential.

The researchers proposed a new molecular design principle for battery polyimide, which uses aromatic molecules and meta amino groups as building blocks. For a long time, scientists have conducted little research on this structural motif and instead used para phenylenediamine or similar structures instead. The current research findings provide good clues for understanding how to design battery polyimides at the molecular level, which may lead to cathode materials with better properties.

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