Science Daily April 4, 2023
Redox-active non-conjugated radical polymers are promising candidates for metal-free aqueous batteries because of the polymers’ high discharge voltage and fast redox kinetics. However, little is known regarding the energy storage mechanism of these polymers in an aqueous environment. The reaction itself is complex and difficult to resolve because of the simultaneous transfer of electrons, ions and water molecules. Researchers at Texas A&M University have demonstrated the nature of the redox reaction for poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl acrylamide) by examining aqueous electrolytes of varying chao-/kosmotropic character using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring at a range of timescales. They found that the capacity can vary by as much as 1,000% depending on the electrolyte, in which certain ions enable better kinetics, higher capacity and higher cycling stability… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Schematic of ions’ chao-/kosmotropic character and their effect on the redox reaction of PTAm. Credit: Nature Materials volume 22, pages495–502 (2023)Â