Powering up the Future: Radical Polymers for Battery Applications

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 24; no. 48; pp. 6397 - 6409
• Main Authors: Janoschka, Tobias, Hager, Martin D., Schubert, Ulrich S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 18.12.2012; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: Electric Power Supplies; Electrochemical Techniques; Electrodes; Free Radicals - chemical synthesis; Free Radicals - chemistry; green batteries; Li-ion battery; Nitrogen Oxides - chemical synthesis; Nitrogen Oxides - chemistry; organic radical battery; polymer battery; Polymers - chemical synthesis; Polymers - chemistry; rechargeable batteries
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201203119

Our society's dependency on portable electric energy, i.e., rechargeable batteries, which permit power consumption at any place and in any time, will eventually culminate in resource wars on limited commodities like lithium, cobalt, and rare earth metals. The substitution of conventional metals as means of electric charge storage by organic and polymeric materials, which may ultimately be derived from renewable resources, appears to be the only feasible way out. In this context, the novel class of organic radical batteries (ORBs) excelling in rate capability (i.e., charging speed) and cycling stability (>1000 cycles) sets new standards in battery research. This review examines stable nitroxide radical bearing polymers, their processing to battery systems, and their promising performance. For over a hundred years, rechargeable batteries have facilitated the evolution from a mains‐operated to a mobile society. During this process, our society's dependency on limited resources such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth metals grew steadily. With the recent development of electroactive nitroxide‐radical‐bearing polymers, a new and seminal class of electrode material is evolving quickly.