Molecular and Morphological Engineering of Organic Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Zhenzhen Wu; Qirong Liu; Pan Yang; Hao Chen; Qichun Zhang; Sheng Li; Yongbing Tang; Shanqing Zhang

doi:10.1007/s41918-022-00152-8

Electrochemical Energy Reviews ›› 2022, Vol. 5 ›› Issue (Suppl 1) DOI: 10.1007/s41918-022-00152-8

Review Article

Molecular and Morphological Engineering of Organic Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Author information +

¹Centre for Catalysis and Clean Energy, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, 4222, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

²Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 518055, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

³Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics and Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University, 211816, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

⁴Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

^f iamsli@njtech.edu.cn

^g tangyb@siat.ac.cn

^h s.zhang@griffith.edu.au

Zhenzhen Wu

received her Ph.D. degree in chemistry at Griffith University (GU), Australia, in 2021. She is currently a Research Fellow in the Centre for Catalysis and Clean Energy at GU. Her research mainly focuses on the organic electrode materials and functional electrolyte additives for rechargeable metal batteries.

Qirong Liu

is currently an associate research fellow at the Advanced Energy Storage Technology Research Center, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He completed his Ph.D. degree from Beihang University and Université Libre de Bruxelles in 2018. His research interest covers secondary batteries and materials, solid-state electrolytes, functional thin-film materials and devices.

Pan Yang

is a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Prof. Shanqing Zhang at Griffith University (Australia) and the external supervision of Pro. Sheng Li at Nanjing Tech University (China). He received his B.Eng. and M.S. degrees from the Southwest University of Science and Technology in 2016 and 2019, respectively. His current research mainly focuses on all-solid-state batteries and organic electrode materials for rechargeable sodium and multivalent metal based batteries.

Hao Chen

was awarded his Ph.D. degree in 2021 at the School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Australia. Since then, he has been working as a research fellow at the School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. His current research interests include the development of functional binders, solid-state electrolytes and high-voltage cathodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

Qichun Zhang

has been a full professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong as a full professor since 2020. From 2018 to 2021, he has been recognized as one of highly-cited researchers (top 1%) in the cross-field by Clarivate Analytics. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Currently, his research focuses on carbon-rich conjugated materials and their applications. Till now, he has published >441 papers and 5 patents (the h-index: 92).

Sheng Li

obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2015 from Griffith University, Australia. After postdoctoral research at Griffith University in 2016, he is now a professor working at the Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University. His current research interests include energy storage materials and devices (metal ion batteries and metal air batteries), and other electrochemical techniques for clean energy.

Yongbing Tang

received his Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR), CAS in 2007. He worked as a Research Fellow at the City University of Hong Kong from 2007 to 2013. Currently, he is a Professor at SIAT and Director of the Advanced Energy Storage Technology Research Center, CAS. His research mainly focuses on energy storage materials and devices.

Shanqing Zhang

has been a full professor in the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University, Australia, since 2016. Prof. Zhang has developed and invented a series of patented and commercialized technologies for environmental monitoring and energy storage devices based on functional nanomaterials. He is an Australia Research Council Future Fellow, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), and Fellow of the Royal Australia Chemical Institute (FRACI). Currently, Prof. Zhang is leading a team working on the design and synthesis of nanomaterials and functional polymers for energy conversion and storage devices as well as the development of sustainable and recyclable battery technology.

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Abstract

Organic electrode materials (OEMs) can deliver remarkable battery performance for metal-ion batteries (MIBs) due to their unique molecular versatility, high flexibility, versatile structures, sustainable organic resources, and low environmental costs. Therefore, OEMs are promising, green alternatives to the traditional inorganic electrode materials used in state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. Before OEMs can be widely applied, some inherent issues, such as their low intrinsic electronic conductivity, significant solubility in electrolytes, and large volume change, must be addressed. In this review, the potential roles, energy storage mechanisms, existing challenges, and possible solutions to address these challenges by using molecular and morphological engineering are thoroughly summarized and discussed. Molecular engineering, such as grafting electron-withdrawing or electron-donating functional groups, increasing various redox-active sites, extending conductive networks, and increasing the degree of polymerization, can enhance the electrochemical performance, including its specific capacity (such as the voltage output and the charge transfer number), rate capability, and cycling stability. Morphological engineering facilitates the preparation of different dimensional OEMs (including 0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D OEMs) via bottom-up and top-down methods to enhance their electron/ion diffusion kinetics and stabilize their electrode structure. In summary, molecular and morphological engineering can offer practical paths for developing advanced OEMs that can be applied in next-generation rechargeable MIBs.

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Zhenzhen Wu, Qirong Liu, Pan Yang, Hao Chen, Qichun Zhang, Sheng Li, Yongbing Tang, Shanqing Zhang. Molecular and Morphological Engineering of Organic Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage. Electrochemical Energy Reviews, 2022, 5(Suppl 1): DOI:10.1007/s41918-022-00152-8