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Updated: Aug 25, 2025

A Protocol for Electrochemical Evaluations and State of Charge Diagnostics of a Symmetric Organic Redox Flow Battery
Published on: February 13, 2017
Tuning Intermolecular Interactions to Enhance the Cyclability of Non-Aqueous, Organic Redox Flow Batteries
Luwei Zhang1, Yue Liu2, Yuanyuan Chen1
1Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, 215123, Suzhou, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Enhancing the electrochemical stability and reversibility of redox-active organic molecules is crucial to improve the performance of non-aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs). Compared with the widely adopted strategy of molecular engineering, we show in this study that tuning the intermolecular interaction between the active material with the supporting electrolyte is another feasible way to address the performance of non-aqueous organic RFBs. Combined with theoretical and experimental investigations, the influence of Lewis acidity of the supporting electrolyte cations and anions on the electrochemical stability and reversibility of bipyridine-based anode material is revealed. As a demonstration, a redox flow cell based on 4,4'-bipyridine anolyte and ferrocene catholyte shows greatly enhanced performance by using supporting electrolyte composed of soft Lewis acid and soft Lewis base. This study provides an alternative, yet highly effective way to addressing the cyclability of an organic compound for non-aqueous RFBs.
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