Organic Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems
Summary
Organic electrode materials encompass a diverse class of redox‐active molecules and polymers that serve as the positive or negative electrodes in rechargeable devices. They draw on abundant elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur, offering the prospect of sustainable, low‐cost alternatives to conventional metal‐based electrodes. Their modular molecular structures enable fine tuning of redox potential, capacity and solubility, while intrinsic flexibility can yield lightweight and mechanically compliant devices. Key challenges include controlling dissolution in liquid electrolytes, enhancing electronic conductivity, achieving high mass loading and ensuring long‐term cycle stability. Advances in molecular design, polymer engineering, conductive scaffolds and in situ analytical methods are beginning to address these barriers, paving the way for applications in lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion batteries, redox flow systems and pseudocapacitive devices for grid buffering and wearable electronics.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have demonstrated a chemical tuning strategy that elevates the redox potential of carboxylate‐based organic cathodes by introducing a high‐ionic‐potential spectator cation into the molecular framework. This substitution increases the operating voltage by nearly 0.8 V and enables an all‐organic symmetric cell with an output of 2.5 V. Complementing this work, an in operando infrared spectroscopic approach has been developed to visualise redox‐driven bond changes in organic polymers under realistic cycling conditions. By correlating spectral evolution with density functional theory calculations, the study reveals precise mechanisms of carbonyl reduction in both lithium and magnesium battery chemistries, offering a general toolset for mechanistic elucidation and targeted material optimisation.
Organic Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in organic electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Organic electrode materials: Redox-active molecules or polymers composed primarily of light elements, used as battery electrodes in lieu of inorganic compounds.
Redox potential: The voltage at which an electrode material undergoes a reversible oxidation or reduction reaction relative to a reference electrode.
Specific capacity: The amount of electric charge stored per unit mass of active material, typically expressed in mAh g–1.
Cycling stability: The ability of an electrode material to retain capacity and efficiency over repeated charge–discharge cycles.
Pseudocapacitance: A charge‐storage mechanism involving fast, surface or near‐surface redox reactions that combine features of capacitors and batteries.
References
- Assessing n‐type organic materials for lithium batteries: A techno‐economic review. InfoMat (2023).
- The rise of organic electrode materials for energy storage. Chemical Society Reviews (2016).
- Raising the redox potential in carboxyphenolate-based positive organic materials via cation substitution. Nature Communications (2018).
- Probing electrochemical reactions in organic cathode materials via in operando infrared spectroscopy. Nature Communications (2018).
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