Redox-Active Polymers As Cathode Materials For Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems

Abstract

The world's rising energy needs and finite fossil-fuel resources demand the development of new methods of generating and storing energy. For renewable energy sources, which are inherently intermittent, to be successfully implemented in a sustainable energy future requires the development of energy storage technologies. The next-generation of electrochemical energy storage (EES) technologies needs to have higher energy and power densities, long cycle life, while also being a safer and more sustainable alternative than current devices. The bottleneck for Li-ion batteries, the highest energy density EES devices, is the cathode material. Consequently, the improvement of the performance of cathode materials can have a dramatic effect on the overall performance of EES devices. Organic compounds are promising alternative materials to existing inorganic cathode materials due to their high theoretical gravimetric capacities, energy and power densities, and abundance. The development of new organic cathode materials is discussed in this work. The polyarylamines investigated display multiple reversible redox couples and good cycling performance.