Metallocene-based compounds for redox flow batteries

化学部化学结构、动力学和机制B项目(CSDMB)支持Christopher J.Ziegler教授和Aliaksei Boika教授的这一项目。齐格勒教授和博伊卡教授是阿克伦大学化学系的教员。齐格勒教授和博伊卡教授正在努力开发新的化合物，用于改善氧化还原液流电池(RFB)的性能。氧化还原液流电池可以潜在地作为一种可扩展的解决方案，用于存储来自风能和阳光等可再生能源的能量。电池利用这些能量在每个电极上产生一种带电物种。然后，这些带电的物质被流入一个储存它们的牢房。当再次需要能量时，带电的物质会回流到电池中，电池以相反的方向运行，返回最初用于充电的所有能量。这种方法的关键是储存的带电物种的稳定性和它们形成的可逆性。到目前为止，用于这一目的的化合物并不理想，并且缺乏使RFB实用所需的许多特征。齐格勒和博伊卡教授正在使用一种名为二茂铁的化合物作为积木来解决这个问题；二茂铁已经被知道了半个多世纪，并且具有氧化还原液流电池的最佳性能。电荷种类非常稳定，它们的形成是完全可逆的。Ziegler和Boika的研究小组希望通过设计包含这种构件的多种等价物的新材料来推动可扩展RFB技术的发展。这项研究还将为未来的科学家提供极好的培训，并将为化学领域代表不足的群体提供教育机会。他们的工作还将包括让K-12学生参加的外联活动，作为资助项目的一部分。氧化还原液流电池(RFB)仍然是可扩展能量存储的理想目标，但这些设备中使用的化学成分可以显著提高。这些电池中使用的氧化还原化学存在开路电位低、不希望发生的副反应和苛性反应条件。二茂铁在许多方面都是一种理想的氧化还原试剂，Ziegler和Boika小组将在四种类型的RFB候选材料中作为功能结构组分进行研究：单二茂铁化合物、多二茂铁化合物、“全茂金属”单组分材料和二茂铁基离子液体。Ziegler实验室已经阐明了新的基于磺酰基的二茂铁化学，它可以作为这些新材料合成中的连接部分。Ziegler和Boika实验室都将充分描述所有新的RFB候选对象，并使用电化学方法评估它们的性能。拟议活动的更广泛的教育影响包括对阿克伦大学研究生的培训，支持国际和平协会的合作活动，以及促进化学方面代表性不足的群体，特别是通过ACS项目种子，作为协同活动。PIs正在为K-12学生开发一个推广计划，重点是可再生资源的能量储存以及化学如何帮助解决这一中心问题。

The Chemical Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanism B Program (CSDMB) of the Chemistry Division supports this project by Professors Christopher J. Ziegler and Aliaksei Boika. Professors Ziegler and Boika are faculty members in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Akron. Professors Ziegler and Boika are working to develop new compounds for use in improving the performance of redox flow batteries (RFBs). Redox flow batteries can potentially serve as a scalable solution for storing the energy derived from renewable sources such as wind and sunlight. The batteries use the energy to make a charged species at each electrode. These charged species are then flowed into a holding cells where they are stored. When the energy is needed again, the charged species are flowed back into the cell and the battery run in the opposite direction giving back all of the energy initially used to make the charges. Key to this approach is the stability charged species that are stored and the reversibility of their formation. To date, the chemical compounds used for this purpose have not been ideal and lack many of the characteristics needed for a RFB to be practical. Professors Ziegler and Boika are approaching this problem using a compound called ferrocene as a building block; ferrocene has been known for more than half of a century and has optimal properties for a redox flow battery. The charges species are very stable, and their formation is perfectly reversible. By designing new materials incorporating multiple equivalents of this building block, the Ziegler and Boika research groups hope to advance development in scalable RFB technology. This research will additionally provide excellent training for future scientists, and will provide education opportunities for underrepresented groups in chemistry. Their work will also include outreach activities involving K-12 students as part of the funded project. Redox flow batteries (RFB) remain highly desirable targets for scalable energy storage, but the chemistry used in these devices can be improved significantly. The redox chemistry used in these cells suffers from low open circuit potentials, undesired side reactions, and caustic reaction conditions. Ferrocene, in many ways an ideal redox reagent, will be investigated by the Ziegler and Boika groups as a functional structural component in four types of RFB candidates: monoferrocenyl compounds, polyferrocenyl compounds, "all metallocene" single component materials, and ferrocene-based ionic liquids. The Ziegler lab has elucidated new sulfonyl based ferrocene chemistry which can be used as the linking moiety in the syntheses of these new materials. Both the Ziegler and Boika labs will fully characterize all new RFB candidates and evaluate their performances using electrochemical methods. The broader educational impacts of the proposed activity include the training of graduate students at The University of Akron, supporting the collaborative activities of the PI, and the promotion of underrepresented groups in chemistry, specifically through the ACS Project SEED, as synergistic activities. The PIs are developing an outreach program for K-12 students focusing on energy storage from renewable resources and how chemistry can assist with this central problem.