A Recyclable and Scalable High‐Capacity Organic Battery

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie 2023-07, Vol.135 (27), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Chen, Yuan, Dai, HuiChao, Fan, Kun, Zhang, Guoqun, Tang, Mi, Gao, Yanbo, Zhang, Chengyang, Guan, Linnan, Mao, Minglei, Liu, Huan, Zhai, Tianyou, Wang, Chengliang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Azobenzene; Chemistry; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Organic batteries; Organic zinc-ion batteries; Protons; Reaction kinetics; Rechargeable batteries; Recyclability; Scalable application
• ISSN: 0044-8249; 1521-3757
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.202302539

Redox organic electrode materials (OEMs) have attracted extensive attention for batteries due to the possibility to be designed with high performance. However, the practical application of OEMs requires rigor criteria such as low cost, recyclability, scalability and high performance etc. and hence seems still far away. Here, we demonstrate an OEM for high performance aqueous organic batteries. Quantification of the charge storage confirmed the storage of protons with fast reaction kinetics, thereby enabling the high performance at high mass loading. As a result, the laminated pouch cells delivered Ampere‐hour‐scale capacity with excellent cycling performance. Benefited from the small molecular nature and the stable both charged and discharged states, the electrodes can be recycled at any states of charge with high yields (more than 90 %). This work provides a substantial step in the practical applications of OEMs for the future sustainable batteries. A practically applicable organic electrode material is proposed for scalable aqueous batteries, which empower Ampere‐hour‐scale capacity in stacked large pouch cells. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of the charge storage were carried out. The recycling of the organic electrode can be achieved at any state of charge with high yields through an economical process.