• A 4 V-class metal-free organic lithium-i

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 22:30:46
    A 4 V-class metal-free organic lithium-ion battery gets closer to
    reality

    Date:
    April 13, 2022
    Source:
    Tohoku University
    Summary:
    Organic, metal free, high-energy batteries are a pathway to a
    greener future. Yet scientists have struggled to find ways to
    boost the voltage in organic lithium-ion batteries. Now, a study
    has proposed a small organic molecule known as croconic acid that
    can maintain a working voltage of around 4 Volts.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    A joint research team from Tohoku University and the University of
    California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has made a significant advancement towards high-voltage metal-free lithium-ion batteries that use a small organic molecule, croconic acid. The breakthrough moves us closer to realizing metal-free, high-energy, and inexpensive lithium-ion batteries.


    ========================================================================== Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries, which depend on rare-earth
    materials such as cobalt and lithium, organic batteries exploit naturally abundant elements such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. In
    addition, organic batteries have greater theoretical capacities than conventional lithium-ion batteries because their use of organic materials renders them lightweight. Most reported organic batteries to date,
    however, possess a relatively low (1-3V) working voltage. Increasing
    organic batteries' voltage will lead to higher energy density batteries.

    Itaru Honma, a professor of chemistry at Tohoku University's Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Hiroaki Kobayashi,
    an assistant professor of chemistry at Tohoku University, and Yuto
    Katsuyama, a graduate student at UCLA, found that croconic acid, when
    used as a lithium-ion battery cathode material, maintains a strong
    working voltage of around 4 V.

    Croconic acid has five carbon atoms bonded to each other in a pentagonal
    form, and each of the carbons is bonded to oxygen. It also has a
    high theoretical capacity of 638.6 mAh/g, which is much higher than
    the conventional lithium-ion battery cathode materials (LiCoO2 ~ 140
    mAh/g). "We investigated the electrochemical behavior of croconic acid
    in the high-voltage range above 3 V using theoretical calculations and electrochemical experiments," said Kobayashi. "We discovered that croconic
    acid stores lithium ions at roughly 4 V, giving a very high theoretical
    energy density of 1949 Wh/kg, which is larger than most inorganic and
    organic lithium-ion batteries." Although the theoretical capacity was
    not achieved in this study, the researchers are optimistic this can be
    enhanced by the development of stable electrolytes at high-voltage and
    chemical modifications to croconic acid. Since most electrolytes cannot
    stand for such a strong working voltage of croconic acid, developing
    new electrolytes is vital. Additionally, the structures of small organic molecules, including croconic acid, can be easily modified.

    Appropriate structural modification can stabilize the molecule, leading
    to greater capacity and reversibility.


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Tohoku_University. Note: Content
    may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Yuto Katsuyama, Hiroaki Kobayashi, Kazuyuki Iwase, Yoshiyuki
    Gambe, Itaru
    Honma. Are Redox‐Active Organic Small Molecules
    Applicable for High‐Voltage (>4 V) Lithium‐Ion
    Battery Cathodes? Advanced Science, 2022; 2200187 DOI:
    10.1002/advs.202200187 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220413090855.htm

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