CAS: Understanding the Electrochemistry of Carboxylate Compound-Based Organic Anodes in Rechargeable Sodium and Potassium Batteries

乔治梅森大学化学与生物化学系的Chao Luo教授和Andre Clayborne教授正在研究可充电钠电池和可充电钾电池中羧酸盐化合物的电化学，该项目由化学学部化学结构、动力学与机理B项目资助。他们正在寻求对化学结构和电化学行为之间关系的基本理解。可充电钠电池和可充电钾电池是众所周知的锂离子电池的有吸引力的替代品，锂离子电池广泛应用于电动汽车，电子产品和能源存储。研究活动将涉及研究生、本科生、高中生和中学生。外展活动包括为高中生和中学生开发可持续电池讲习班，以及为高中生提供电池研究的基本实践技能培训，以提高他们对科学，技术，工程和数学的兴趣。目前无机阳极由于容量小、循环寿命差、反应动力学迟钝等问题限制了可充电钠电池和可充电钾电池的发展。羧酸盐化合物以其轻量化和低成本的优点，在可充电钠电池和可充电钾电池的负极材料中占有重要的地位。但库仑效率低，反应动力学慢。Chao Luo教授和Andre Clayborne教授计划通过结合计算化学和数据分析研究官能团、杂原子、共轭结构、结构同分异构和界面化学来克服这些限制。创新的结构设计和简便的制造方法将被开发用于合成羧酸基有机阳极。广泛的电化学和材料表征，原位/非原位电极测量和计算化学的结合可以导致对新型羧酸盐阳极的电池化学的基本理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In this project, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics & Mechanisms B Program of the Chemistry Division, Professors Chao Luo and Andre Clayborne of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at George Mason University are investigating the electrochemistry of carboxylate compounds in rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries. They are seeking a fundamental understanding of the correlation between chemical structures and electrochemical behaviors. Rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries are attractive alternatives to the well-known lithium ion battery, which are widely used in electric cars, electronic, and energy storage. Research activities will involve graduate, undergraduate, high school, and middle school students. Outreach activities include the development of sustainable battery workshops for high school and middle school students, and the training of high school students with basic hands-on skills for battery research to enhance their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Current inorganic anodes limit the development of rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries, because of low capacity, poor cycle life, and sluggish reaction kinetics. Carboxylate compounds, with their advantages of lightweight and low cost, stand out as promising anode materials for rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries. However, they can suffer from low Coulombic efficiency and slow reaction kinetics. Professors Chao Luo and Andre Clayborne plan to overcome these limitations by studying functional groups, heteroatoms, conjugation structure, structural isomerism, and interfacial chemistry in conjunction with computation chemistry and data analytics. Innovative structure design and facile fabrication approaches will be developed to synthesize carboxylate-based organic anodes. The combination of extensive electrochemical and material characterizations, in situ/ex situ electrode measurements, and computational chemistry could lead to the fundamental understanding of the battery chemistry of new carboxylate anodes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.