Conjugated Microporous Polymers Based on Ferrocene Units as Highly Efficient Electrodes for Energy Storage

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Development of advanced electrode materials is crucial for high-performance energy storage devices.
• Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) offer tunable properties and high surface areas for electrochemical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize novel ferrocene-based CMPs for efficient supercapacitor electrodes.
• To investigate the structure-property relationships of these CMPs for enhanced capacitive performance.

Main Methods:

• Schiff base reaction between 1,1'-diacetylferrocene and three aryl amines (PDAT, TPA-NH2, TPE-NH2) to form PDAT-FC, TPA-FC, and TPE-FC CMPs.
• Characterization of CMPs for surface area, porosity, and electrochemical properties.
• Fabrication and testing of supercapacitor electrodes using the synthesized CMPs.

Main Results:

• PDAT-FC and TPA-FC CMPs exhibited high surface areas (502 and 701 m2 g-1) with both micropores and mesopores.
• TPA-FC CMP demonstrated superior capacitive performance with a specific capacitance of 129 F g-1 and 96% capacitance retention over 5000 cycles.
• The enhanced performance of TPA-FC CMP is attributed to its high surface area, porosity, and the synergistic effect of redox-active ferrocene and triphenylamine units.

Conclusions:

• The facile synthesis of ferrocene-based CMPs provides a promising route for developing high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.
• TPA-FC CMP exhibits excellent electrochemical stability and energy storage capabilities, making it a strong candidate for next-generation energy storage systems.