Harmonizing Energies: The Interplay Between a Nonplanar SalEn-Type Molecule and a TEMPO Moiety in a New Hybrid Energy-Storing Redox-Conducting Polymer

Redox-conducting polymers based on SalEn-type complexes have attracted considerable attention due to their potential applications in electrochemical devices. However, their charge transfer mechanisms, physical and electrochemical properties remain unclear, hindering their rational design and optimization. This study aims to establish the influence of monomer geometry on the polymer's properties by investigating the properties of novel nonplanar SalEn-type complexes, poly[N,N'-bis(salicylidene)propylene-2-(hydroxy)diaminonickel(II)], and its analog with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-N-oxyl (TEMPO)-substituted bridge (MTS). To elucidate the charge transfer mechanism, operando UV-Vis spectroelectrochemical analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance are employed. Introducing TEMPO into the bridge moiety enhanced the specific capacity of the poly(MTS) material to 95 mA h g-1, attributed to TEMPO's and conductive backbone's charge storage capabilities. Replacement of the ethylenediimino-bridge with a 1,3-propylenediimino- bridge induced significant changes in the complex geometry and material's morphology, electrochemical, and spectral properties. At nearly the same potential, polaron and bipolaron particles emerged, suggesting intriguing features at the overlap point of the electroactivity potentials ranges of polaron-bipolaron and TEMPO, such as a disruption in the connection between TEMPO and the conjugation chain or intramolecular charge transfer. These results offer valuable insights for optimizing strategies to create organic materials with tailored properties for use in catalysis and battery applications.

Access to Functionalized Materials by Metal-Free Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization of Active Esters and Divergent Postpolymerization Modification

Metal-free ring-opening metathesis polymerization (MF-ROMP) is an emerging polymerization strategy that provides access to ROMP materials by using organic initiators and photoredox catalysts. Unlike metal-mediated ROMP, MF-ROMP is not highly tolerant toward functionalized monomers. Herein, we report that pentafluorophenyl esters are polymerizable under MF-ROMP conditions to produce homopolymers, statistical copolymers, and block copolymers. Amine coupling agents were then used to install a range of functional groups via acyl substitution including alkynes, amino acid derivatives, fluorophores, and redox active moieties. Overall, these findings provide a framework to prepare functionalized ROMP polymers without the risk of metal contamination.

Redox: Organic Robust Radicals and Their Polymers for Energy Conversion/Storage Devices

Persistent radicals can hold their unpaired electrons even under conditions where they accumulate, leading to the unique characteristics of radical ensembles with open-shell structures and their molecular properties, such as magneticity, radical trapping, catalysis, charge storage, and electrical conductivity. The molecules also display fast, reversible redox reactions, which have attracted particular attention for energy conversion and storage devices. This paper reviews the electrochemical aspects of persistent radicals and the corresponding macromolecules, radical polymers. Radical structures and their redox reactions are introduced, focusing on redox potentials, bistability, and kinetic constants for electrode reactions and electron self-exchange reactions. Unique charge transport and storage properties are also observed with the accumulated form of redox sites in radical polymers. The radical molecules have potential electrochemical applications, including in rechargeable batteries, redox flow cells, photovoltaics, diodes, and transistors, and in catalysts, which are reviewed in the last part of this paper.

Multimodal investigation of electronic transport in PTMA and its impact on organic radical battery performance

Organic radical batteries (ORBs) represent a viable pathway to a more sustainable energy storage technology compared to conventional Li-ion batteries. For further materials and cell development towards competitive energy and power densities, a deeper understanding of electron transport and conductivity in organic radical polymer cathodes is required. Such electron transport is characterised by electron hopping processes, which depend on the presence of closely spaced hopping sites. Using a combination of electrochemical, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic, and theoretical molecular dynamics as well as density functional theory modelling techniques, we explored how compositional characteristics of cross-linked poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy-4-yl methacrylate) (PTMA) polymers govern electron hopping and rationalise their impact on ORB performance. Electrochemistry and EPR spectroscopy not only show a correlation between capacity and the total number of radicals in an ORB using a PTMA cathode, but also indicates that the state-of-health degrades about twice as fast if the amount of radical is reduced by 15%. The presence of up to 3% free monomer radicals did not improve fast charging capabilities. Pulsed EPR indicated that these radicals readily dissolve into the electrolyte but a direct effect on battery degradation could not be shown. However, a qualitative impact cannot be excluded either. The work further illustrates that nitroxide units have a high affinity to the carbon black conductive additive, indicating the possibility of its participation in electron hopping. At the same time, the polymers attempt to adopt a compact conformation to increase radical-radical contact. Hence, a kinetic competition exists, which might gradually be altered towards a thermodynamically more stable configuration by repeated cycling, yet further investigations are required for its characterisation.

Bio-inspired non-conjugated poly(carbonylpyridinium) as anode material for high-performance alkali-ion (Li+, Na+, and K+) batteries

The integration of multiple electron-accepting skeletons into polymeric structures is the forefront of materials research for high-energy sustainable energy storage. Herein, we report the synthesis of two novel non-conjugated polymers (NCP1 and NCP2) and a model small molecule (M1) incorporated with bio-derived 4-elecron-uptaking carbonylpyridinium redox-units for alkali-ion batteries. Compared to model small molecules, the polymers exhibited improved battery performance when applied as anode materials for Li-, Na-, and K-ion batteries (LIBs/SIBs/KIBs) owing to their high electrochemical activity and effective ability to suppress dissolution. By judicious selection of the benzothiadiazole redox-active linker, the performance of NCP2 was further enhanced, delivering the highest capacity and the best cycling stability; at mass loadings of up to 3.5 and 4.7 mg cm^-2, the specific capacity remained at 215 and 150 mAh g^-1 after 200 cycles, respectively. The Li⁺/Na⁺/K⁺ insertion/extraction mechanisms of NCP2 were elucidated based on experimental analyses. The insertion/extraction of Li⁺ was much faster than that of Na⁺ and K⁺. This study broadens the family of bio-derived carbonylpyridinium-based polymer materials for next-generation electrochemical energy storage applications.

TEMPO-Modified Polymethacrylates as Mediators in Electrosynthesis: Influence of the Molecular Weight on Redox Properties and Electrocatalytic Activity

Homogeneous catalysts ("mediators") are frequently employed in organic electrosynthesis to control selectivity. Despite their advantages, they can have a negative influence on the overall energy and mass balance if used only once or recycled inefficiently. Polymediators are soluble redox-active polymers applicable as electrocatalysts, enabling recovery by dialysis or membrane filtration. Using anodic alcohol oxidation as an example, we have demonstrated that TEMPO-modified polymethacrylates (TPMA) can act as efficient and recyclable catalysts. In the present work, the influence of the molecular size on the redox properties and the catalytic activity was carefully elaborated using a series of TPMAs with well-defined molecular weight distributions. Cyclic voltammetry studies show that the polymer chain length has a pronounced impact on the key-properties. Together with preparative-scale electrolysis experiments, an optimum size range was identified for polymediator-guided sustainable reaction control.

Key Features of TEMPO-Containing Polymers for Energy Storage and Catalytic Systems

The need for environmentally benign portable energy storage drives research on organic batteries and catalytic systems. These systems are a promising replacement for commonly used energy storage devices that rely on limited resources such as lithium and rare earth metals. The redox-active TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl-4-yl) fragment is a popular component of organic systems, as its benefits include remarkable electrochemical performance and decent physical properties. TEMPO is also known to be an efficient catalyst for alcohol oxidation, oxygen reduction, and various complex organic reactions. It can be attached to various aliphatic and conductive polymers to form high-loading catalysis systems. The performance and efficiency of TEMPO-containing materials strongly depend on the molecular structure, and thus rational design of such compounds is vital for successful implementation. We discuss synthetic approaches for producing electroactive polymers based on conductive and non-conductive backbones with organic radical substituents, fundamental aspects of electrochemistry of such materials, and their application in energy storage devices, such as batteries, redox-flow cells, and electrocatalytic systems. We compare the performance of the materials with different architectures, providing an overview of diverse charge interactions for hybrid materials, and presenting promising research opportunities for the future of this area.

Nitroxide radical polymers for emerging plastic energy storage and organic electronics: fundamentals, materials, and applications

Increasing demand for portable and flexible electronic devices requires seamless integration of the energy storage system with other electronic components. This ever-growing area has urged on the rapid development of new electroactive materials that not only possess excellent electrochemical properties but hold capabilities to be fabricated to desired shapes. Ideally, these new materials should have minimal impact on the environment at the end of their life. Nitroxide radical polymers (NRPs) with their remarkable electrochemical and physical properties stand out from diverse organic redox systems and have attracted tremendous attention for their identified applications in plastic energy storage and organic devices. In this review, we present a comprehensive summary of NRPs with respect to the fundamental electrochemical properties, design principles and fabrication methods for different types of energy storage systems and organic electronic devices. While highlighting some exciting progress on charge transfer theory and emerging applications, we end up with a discussion on the challenges and opportunities regarding the future directions of this field.

Structural design of pyrene-functionalized TEMPO-containing polymers for enhanced electrochemical storage performance

We demonstrate the importance of rational structural design of pyrene-functionalized radical (i.e. 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy, TEMPO) copolymers for enhanced electrochemical performance by providing insightful guidance for designing high-performance polymer-based electrodes for energy storage applications.

A coupled polymeric porphyrin complex as a novel cathode for highly stable lithium organic batteries

A highly conjugated polymeric porphyrin with an ethynyl group is proposed as a new cathode for lithium organic batteries. The electrochemical performance is significantly improved after a simple coupled polymerization, resulting in excellent cycling stability with a capacity retention of 99.2% for 2000 cycles.

Solution-Processable Thermally Crosslinked Organic Radical Polymer Battery Cathodes

Organic radical polymers are promising cathode materials for next-generation batteries because of their rapid charge transfer and high cycling stability. However, these organic polymer electrodes gradually dissolve in the electrolyte, resulting in capacity fade. Several crosslinking methods have been developed to improve the performance of these electrodes, but they are either not compatible with carbon additives or compromise the solution processability of the electrodes. A one-step post-synthetic, carbon-compatible crosslinking method was developed to effectively crosslink an organic polymer electrode and allow for easy solution processing. The highest electrode capacity of 104 mAh g^-1 (vs. a theoretical capacity of 111 mAh g^-1 ) is achieved by introducing 1 mol % of the crosslinker, whereas the highest capacity retention (99.6 %) is obtained with 3 mol % crosslinker. In addition, mass transfer was observed in situ by using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. These results may guide future electrode design toward fast-charging and high-capacity organic electrodes.

Metal-Free, Solid-State, Paperlike Rechargeable Batteries Consisting of Redox-Active Polyethers

Metal-free and totally organic based batteries were fabricated from functional polyethers. Aliphatic polyethers, in which 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl and viologen were introduced with high density, were used as the cathode and anode active materials, respectively. By stacking nanosheets of the polymers and an imidazolium-substituted polyether as the electrolyte, a solid-state cell only 2 μm thick was made. The anion-type rocking-chair cell showed reversible charge/discharge even at a high rate of 5 C without adding any solvents or plasticizers. Although the unsealed cell was measured under ambient conditions, no significant side reactions (including self-discharging and capacity decay) occurred, whereas conventional electrodes are sensitive to air and water in the charged state. The intrinsic plasticity of the polyethers is also compatible with making free-form, 3D-printable batteries.

A Methoxyamine-Protecting Group for Organic Radical Battery Materials-An Alternative Approach

An alternative synthetic route towards the widely employed electroactive poly(TEMPO methacrylate) (PTMA) via a thermally robust methoxyamine-protecting group is demonstrated herein. Protection of the radical moiety of hydroxy-TEMPO with a methyl functionality and subsequent esterification with methacrylic anhydride allows the high-yielding formation of the novel monomer methyl-TEMPO methacrylate (MTMA). The polymerization of MTMA to poly(MTMA) (PMTMA) is investigated via free radical polymerization and reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization (RAFT), a reversible-deactivation radical polymerization technique. Cleavage of the temperature-stable methoxyamine functionality by oxidative treatment of PMTMA with meta-chloroperbenzoic acid (mCPBA) releases the electroactive PTMA. The redox activity of PTMA was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry in lithium-ion coin cells.

100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Fundamentals for the Future of Macromolecular Nitroxide Radicals

Macromolecular radicals, radical polymers, and polyradicals bear unique functionalities derived from their pendant radical groups. The increasing need for organic functional materials is driving the growth in research interest in macromolecular radicals for batteries, electronics, memory, and imaging. This Viewpoint summarizes the current state-of-knowledge regarding the macromolecular nitroxide radicals' redox mechanism, conductivity, chain conformation, controlled polymerization, network structure, conjugated forms, and applications. The nitroxide radical group is the focus because it is the most widely studied. Although most literature focuses upon applications, an emerging body of work is highlighting the fundamental physicochemical properties of macromolecular radicals. To this end, this Viewpoint recommends areas of opportunity in fundamental studies and best practices in reporting.

Organic Electrode Materials for Metal Ion Batteries

Organic and polymer materials have been extensively investigated as electrode materials for rechargeable batteries because of the low cost, abundance, environmental benignity, and high sustainability. To date, organic electrode materials have been applied in a large variety of energy storage devices, including nonaqueous Li-ion, Na-ion, K-ion, dual-ion, multivalent-metal, aqueous, all-solid-state, and redox flow batteries, because of the universal properties of organic electrode materials. Moreover, some organic materials enable the batteries to be operated in the extreme conditions, such as a wide temperature range (-70 to 150 °C), a wide pH range, and in the presence of O₂. As a guidance for the research in organic batteries, this Review focuses on the reaction mechanisms and applications of organic electrode materials. Six categories of reaction mechanisms and the applications of organic and polymer materials in various rechargeable batteries are discussed to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art organic batteries.

Nitroxide polymer gels for recyclable catalytic oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes

A physically crosslinked nitroxide polymer gel has been synthesized and used as a recyclable catalyst to convert alcohols to aldehydes in air.

Photopatterning and Electrochemical Energy Storage Properties of an On-Chip Organic Radical Microbattery

One potential way to fabricate battery-on-chip is photopatterning electrochemical energy storage materials directly on electronics through lithography, but applicable materials are primarily limited to transparent photocurable resins. The transparency of the photoresist would be sacrificed after extra addition of insoluble inorganic battery materials and conductors. Given the importance of radical polymers for their appropriate solubility, optical transparency, and radical robustness, they may have potential application in on-chip energy storage, transport, and conversion devices. Herein, an anodic photoresist is proposed by modifying the MicroChem SU8 resist with a radical polymer poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinyl-N-oxyl methacrylate) and an ionic conductor lithium perchlorate. It can be photopatterned on silicon wafer with 10 μm scale resolution, and it exhibits charge/discharge potentials at ca. 0.68 V versus silver chloride electrode; the coulomb efficiency is regarded as nearly equaling 100%. Although the specific capacity of the photopatterned film electrode is found to be modest, 1 × 10^-5 mA h·cm^-2, it presents 1/8 of its theoretical electron storage ability. All-solid-state half-cells with circular features 30 μm in diameter are prepared by means of overlay exposure using the as-prepared photoresist and lithium perchlorate-modified SU8 as the anodic electrode and solid electrolyte, respectively. These results suggest a promising way of using radical polymers for the integration of electrochemical energy in microelectronics.

The Transition from Metal-Based to Metal-Free Contrast Agents for T1 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Enhancement

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has received significant attention as the noninvasive diagnostic technique for complex diseases. Image-guided therapeutic strategy for diseases such as cancer has also been at the front line of biomedical research, thanks to the innovative MRI, enhanced by the prior delivery of contrast agents (CAs) into patients' bodies through injection. These CAs have contributed a great deal to the clinical utility of MRI but have been based on metal-containing compounds such as gadolinium, manganese, and iron oxide. Some of these CAs have led to cytotoxicities such as the incurable Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), resulting in their removal from the market. On the other hand, CAs based on organic nitroxide radicals, by virtue of their structural composition, are metal free and without the aforementioned drawbacks. They also have improved biocompatibility, ease of functionalization, and long blood circulation times, and have been proven to offer tissue contrast enhancement with longitudinal relaxivities comparable with those for the metal-containing CAs. Thus, this Review highlights the recent progress in metal-based CAs and their shortcomings. In addition, the remarkable goals achieved by the organic nitroxide radical CAs in the enhancement of MR images have also been discussed extensively. The focal point of this Review is to emphasize or demonstrate the crucial need for transition into the use of organic nitroxide radicals-metal-free CAs-as against the metal-containing CAs, with the aim of achieving safer application of MRI for early disease diagnosis and image-guided therapy.

Ion-Conducting Redox-Active Polymer Gels Based on Stable Nitroxide Radicals

Redox-active polymer networks based on stable nitroxide radicals are a very promising class of materials to be used in the so-called organic radical batteries. In order to obtain fast-charging and high power electrodes, however, excellent ionic conductivity inside the electrode material is required to allow easy diffusion of ions and fast redox reactions. In this contribution, we investigated redox-active poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl methacrylate) chains cross-linked through ionic liquid-like 1,2,3-triazolium groups. Different networks were prepared in which the amount of cross-linker and the counter-anion associated to the 1,2,3-triazolium group were varied. The ionic conductivities of the different polymer networks were first measured in the solid state by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy at different temperatures, and an increased ionic conductivity was measured when 1,2,3-triazolium groups were present in the network. The effects of the chemical nature of the counterions associated to the 1,2,3-triazolium groups and of the crosslinking density were then studied. The best ionic conductivities were obtained when bis (trifluoromethane)sulfonamide (TFSI) counter-anions were used, and when the crosslinking density of the TFSI-containing gel was higher. Finally, those ion-conducting gels were loaded with free LiTFSI and the transference number of lithium ions was accordingly measured. The good ionic conductivities and lithium ions transference numbers measured for the investigated redox-active gels make them ideal candidates for application as electrode materials for either organic radical batteries or pseudo-capacitors energy storage devices.

Diblock copolymers consisting of a redox polymer block based on a stable radical linked to an electrically conducting polymer block as cathode materials for organic radical batteries

Coupling a conjugated P3HT block to a radical polymer block leads to improved PTMA battery performances.

Long-Life and High-Power Binder-Free Cathode Based on One-Step Synthesis of Radical Polymers with Multi-Pendant Groups

The main bottlenecks for the widespread application of radical polymers in organic radical batteries are poor cycling stability, due to the dissolution of radical polymers into the electrolyte, and the low efficiency of multi-step synthesis strategies. Herein, a kind of electrolyte-resistant radical polymer bearing multi-pendant groups (poly(ethylene-alt-TEMPO maleate) (PETM)) is designed and synthesized through a one-step esterification reaction to graft 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-teramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxy into the commercially available poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride). Interestingly, PETM is hardly soluble in the ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate/ethyl methyl carbonate-based electrolyte, showing an extremely low solubility of 0.59 mg mL^-1 , but is easily soluble in tetrahydrofuran and N-Methyl pyrrolidone. The derived binder-free PETM cathode exhibits nearly 100% utilization of the grafted nitroxide radicals (88 mA h g^-1 ) and excellent rate capability with almost invariant capacitance from 10 C to 40 C. Significantly, the PETM cathodes retain 94% of the initial capacity after 1000 cycles, outperforming most reported radical polymer-based cathodes.

New Spin on Organic Radical Batteries-An Isoindoline Nitroxide-Based High-Voltage Cathode Material

Organic electrode materials are a highly promising and environmentally benign class of battery materials with radical polymers being at the forefront of this research. Herein, we report the first example of the 1,1,3,3-tetramethylisoindolin-2-yloxyl class of nitroxides as an organic electrode material and the synthesis and application of a novel styrenic nitroxide polymer, poly(5-vinyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethylisoindolin-2-yloxyl) (PVTMIO). The polymer was synthesized from the precursor monomer, 2-methoxy-5-vinyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethylisoindoline, and subsequent oxidative deprotection yielded the electroactive radical species. Cyclic voltammetry revealed a high oxidation potential of 3.7 V versus Li, placing it among the top of the nitroxide class of electrode materials. The suitability of PVTMIO for utilization in a high-voltage organic radical battery was confirmed with a discharge capacity of 104.7 mAh g^-1, high rate performance, and stability under cycling conditions (90% capacity retention after 100 cycles), making it one of the highest reported organic p-dopable cathode materials.

Effect of heteroatom and functionality substitution on the oxidation potential of cyclic nitroxide radicals: role of electrostatics in electrochemistry

Electrostatic effects on electrochemical oxidation potentials of heteroatomic and functional substituted nitroxides were studied both experimentally and computationally.

Nitroxide radical polymers – a versatile material class for high-tech applications

A comprehensive summary of synthetic strategies for the preparation of nitroxide radical polymer materials and a state-of-the-art perspective on their latest and most exciting applications.

Pyrene-Functionalized PTMA by NRC for Greater π-π Stacking with rGO and Enhanced Electrochemical Properties

Nitroxide radical polymers can undergo both excellent electrochemical redox reactions and a rapid "click" coupling reaction with carbon-centered radicals (i.e., nitroxide radical coupling (NRC) reaction). In this work, we report a strategy to functionalize poly(2,2,6,6,-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl methacrylate) (PTMA) with pyrene side groups through a rapid and near quantitative NRC reaction. This resulted in P(TMA-co-PyMA) random copolymers with near quantitative amounts of pyrene along the PTMA chain for greater π-π interaction with rGO, while the nitroxide radicals on the polymer could simultaneously be used for energy storage. These copolymers can bind with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and form layered composites through noncovalent π-π stacking, attaining molecular-level dispersion. Electrochemical performance of the composites with different polymer contents (24, 35, and 45 wt %), tested in lithium ion batteries, indicated that the layered structures consisting of P(TMA-co-PyMA) maintained greater capacities at high C-rates. This simple and efficient strategy to synthesize pyrene-functionalized polymers will provide new opportunities to fabricate many other polymer composite electrodes for desired electrochemical performance.

Spin fluorescence silencing enables an efficient thermally driven self-reporting polymer release system

A self-reporting profluorescent release system driven by the thermo-reversible dynamic covalent ligation of chromophores to polymer chain, whose fluorescence is silenced by unpaired spins of nitroxides prior to release is introduced.