We report a neutral salt water based battery which uses p-type and n-type solution processed polymer films as the cathode and the anode of the cell. The specific capacity of the electrodes (approximately 30 mAh cm-3) is achieved via formation of bipolarons in both the p-type and n-type polymers. By engineering ethylene glycol and zwitterion based side chains attached to the polymer backbone we facilitate rapid ion transport through the non-porous polymer films. This, combined with efficient transport of electronic charge via the conjugated polymer backbones, allowed the films to maintain constant capacity at high charge and discharge rates (>1000 C-rate). The electrodes also show good stability during electrochemical cycling (less than 30% decrease in capacity over >1000 cycles) and an output voltage up to 1.4 V. The performance of these semiconducting polymers with polar side-chains demonstrates the potential of this material class for fast-charging, water based electrochemical energy storage devices.
@article{arxiv.1711.10457,
title = {A salt water battery with high stability and charging rates made from solution processed conjugated polymers with polar side chains},
author = {Davide Moia and Alexander Giovannitti and Anna A. Szumska and Martin Schnurr and Elham Rezasoltani and Iuliana P. Maria and Piers R. F. Barnes and Iain McCulloch and Jenny Nelson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1711.10457},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Main paper 13 pages, included supporting information 49 pages