Self-Assembled Stable Radicals for Improved Battery Performance

在德国研究新的储能材料有很多原因，其中包括德国逐步淘汰核能、消费电子产品的发展以及高度的环保意识。随着可再生能源在德国的迅速发展，以及太阳能或风能不能持续利用，需要新的储能装置。像现代智能手机这样的消费电子产品可能会受益于可以在几分钟内完全充电的电池，特别是不含铅和镉等重金属的新电池，从而解决现代人日益增强的环保意识。作为一个副作用，生产这种电池将减少一个国家进口这种金属的需要。薄的纸状电池还可以提供全新的应用。所有这些需求都在计划中的研究项目中得到解决，该项目是基于稳定的自由基聚合物，具有高充电和放电速度的无金属电池。在过去的几年里，第一个类似的装置，特别是在日本生产，但大多数原型依赖于大规模添加填充和粘合材料和金属反电极。为了解决阻碍这种原型大规模生产的缺点，本项目将研究一种新的方法，导致更大的能量存储容量，在这种稳定的基于自由基聚合物的电池中电极材料的导电性和稳定性。将研究自组装嵌段共聚物。由于自由基位点的紧密堆积，添加的填充材料的量将显著降低，导致电极的更高电荷密度和导电性。使用具有液晶成分的材料，电池中电极在电解质溶液中的溶解度将大大降低，也导致材料中粘合剂的需求减少。为了进一步提高新电极的导电性，将研究嵌段共聚物和纳米颗粒的复合材料。在此将利用已经获得的类似复合材料的专业知识。由稳定的自由基嵌段共聚物和纳米颗粒制成的最终生产的电极将具有更快的能量释放和充电速度以及与迄今为止生产的类似原型相比更高的能量存储密度的能力-并且比传统电池具有更高的潜力。

There is a magnitude of reasons to research on new energy storage materials in Germany like, amongst others, the German nuclear phase-out, the development of consumer electronics and the high environmental awareness. As renewable energy develops rapidly in Germany, and as solar or wind power is not continuously available, new devices for energy storage are necessary. Consumer electronics like modern smartphones might profit from batteries that can be charged completely within few minutes, and especially new batteries that are free of heavy metals like lead and cadmium would hereby address the increasing environmental awareness of modern people. As a side effect, the production of such batteries would reduce the need of a country to import such metals. Thin, paper-like batteries could additionally afford completely new applications.All of these needs are addressed in the planed research project on stable radical polymer based, metal free batteries with a high charging and discharging speed. Within the last years, first similar devices were produced especially in Japan, but most prototypes depended on the large scale addition of filling and binding materials and metal counter electrodes.In order to address the drawbacks that counteract large scale production of such prototypes, a new approach shall be investigated in this project, leading to a larger energy storage capacity, conductivity and stability of the electrode materials in such stable radical polymer based batteries. Self-assembled block copolymers will be investigated. Because of the closer packing of radical sites, the amount of added filler material will be drastically lower, leading to higher charge density and conductivity of the electrodes. Using materials with liquid crystalline constituents, the solubility of the electrodes in electrolyte solutions in batteries will be drastically lowered, also leading to a reduced need of binders in the material. To further increase the conductivity of the new electrodes, composite materials of block copolymers and nanoparticles will be investigated. Already gained expertise on similar composite materials will be utilized hereby. The finally produced electrodes made from stable radical block copolymers and nanoparticles will have the capability of faster energy release and charging speed and a higher energy storage density compared to similar prototypes produced hitherto - and a much higher potential than conventional batteries.