Publication - Journal Article Reversible ketone hydrogenation and dehydrogenation for aqueous organic redox flow batteries

Science, vol. 372, iss. 6544, pp. 836-840, 2021

Ruozhu Feng, Xin Zhang, Vijayakumar Murugesan, Aaron Hollas, Ying Chen, Yuyan Shao, Eric Walter, Nadeesha P. N. Wellala, Litao Yan, Kevin M. Rosso, Wei Wang

Engineering suitable redox molecules In a flow battery, catholyte and anolyte are stored in separate tanks, and pumps are used to circulate the fluids into a stack with electrodes separated by a thin membrane. Such batteries are ideal for large-scale grid storage applications; however, suitable redox molecules are currently limited. Feng et al. used “molecular engineering” to modify an inexpensive precursor (9-fluorenone) as the basis for an organic-based redox flow battery (see the Perspective by Hu and Liu). The authors tested a series of variant molecules in a redox flow battery in which the reactions involve reversible ketone hydrogenation and dehydrogenation in an aqueous electrolyte. These reactions have advantageous features, including two-electron redox and operation in air and at elevated temperatures (50°C), that are more suitable for real-world applications. Science , abd9795, this issue p. 836 ; see also abi5911, p. 788