Design of Organic Cathode Material Based on Quinone and Pyrazine Motifs for Rechargeable Lithium and Zinc Batteries.

Despite the rapid expansion of the organic cathode materials field, we still face a shortage of materials obtained through simple synthesis that have stable cycling and high energy density. Herein, we report a two-step synthesis of a small organic molecule from commercially available precursors that can be used as a cathode material. Oxidized tetraquinoxalinecatechol (OTQC) was derived from tetraquinoxalinecatechol (TQC) by the introduction of additional quinone redox-active centers into the structure.

Organic Cathodes, a Path toward Future Sustainable Batteries: Mirage or Realistic Future?

Organic active materials are seen as next-generation battery materials that could circumvent the sustainability and cost limitations connected with the current Li-ion battery technology while at the same time enabling novel battery functionalities like a bioderived feedstock, biodegradability, and mechanical flexibility. Many promising research results have recently been published. However, the reproducibility and comparison of the literature results are somehow limited due to highly variable electrode formulations and electrochemical testing conditions.

A phenazine-based conjugated microporous polymer as a high performing cathode for aluminium-organic batteries.

One of the possible solutions to circumvent the sluggish kinetics, low capacity, and poor integrity of inorganic cathodes commonly used in rechargeable aluminium batteries (RABs) is the use of redox-active polymers as cathodes. They are not only sustainable materials characterised by their structure tunability, but also exhibit a unique ion coordination redox mechanism that makes them versatile ion hosts suitable for voluminous aluminium cation complexes, as demonstrated by the poly(quinoyl) family. Recently, phenazine-based compounds have been found to have high capacity, reversibility and fast redox kinetics in aqueous electrolytes because of the presence of a CN double bond.

Practical Cell Design for PTMA-Based Organic Batteries: an Experimental and Modeling Study.

Poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy methacrylate) (PTMA) is one of the most promising organic cathode materials thanks to its relatively high redox potential, good rate performance, and cycling stability. However, being a p-type material, PTMA-based batteries pose additional challenges compared to conventional lithium-ion systems due to the involvement of anions in the redox process. This study presents a comprehensive approach to optimize such batteries, addressing challenges in electrode design, scalability, and cost.