Organic electrode materials (OEMs) possess low discharge potentials and charge‒discharge rates, making them suitable for use as affordable and eco-friendly rechargeable energy storage systems.
Nevertheless, due to the enormous success of graphite-based and inorganic electrode materials in both research and commercialization, organic materials have received very little attention in the past several decades for the development of battery systems.
Can organic materials replace conventional metals in rechargeable batteries?
The substitution of conventional metals as redox-active material by organic materials offers a promising alternative for the next generation of rechargeable batteries since these organic batteries are excelling in charging speed and cycling stability.
Growing concerns about global environmental pollution have triggered the development of sustainable and eco-friendly battery chemistries. In that regard, organic rechargeable batteries are considered promising next-generation systems that could meet the demands of this age.
This review provides a comprehensive overview of these systems and discusses the numerous classes of organic, polymer-based active materials as well as auxiliary components of the battery, like additives or electrolytes.
How can organic materials be adapted to other metal-ion battery systems?
Fourth, structural diversity and easy control on functional groups make it straightforward to tailor organic materials' redox properties and electrochemical performances. Furthermore, the electroactivity of organic materials can be extended to other metal-ion battery systems because of the generality of their redox mechanisms.
The most-studied active materials in organic radical batteries are polymers that carry redox-active pendant groups 10, 13, 14, 16, 17 —such as 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) and 4,4′-bipyridine derivatives (viologen) 11, 16, 18, 19, 20 —along non-degradable, aliphatic backbones 5, 20, 21, 22, 23.