Quinone based conducting redox polymers for electrical energy storage

Abstract

Conducting redox polymers (CRPs) constitute a promising class of materials for the development of organic matter based batteries with the potential to overcome the main limitations connected to this type of rechargeable battery systems including low conductivity and dissolution problems. In this report we show that the potential of quinones can be effectively tuned into the conducting region of polypyrrole (PPy), both in water based solutions and in acetonitrile, which is a prerequisite for profitable combination of the two units. We also present a device where both anode and cathode are made from PPy substituted with different quinone pendant groups and where good rate performance is achieved without any conductivity additives thus providing support for the hypothesized synergetic effect of a conducting polymer backbone and a covalently attached redox active pendant group. This device constitutes, to the best of our knowledge, the first all-CRP based battery reported to date.