Immobilized Poly(anthraquinones) for Electrochemical Energy Storage Applications: Structure-Property Relations

Abstract

The majority of energy storage devices like batteries, fuel cells or electrolyzers require heterogeneous electrodes. Immobilization of redox-active organic molecules by a polymeric approach seems to be a promising route towards organic electrodes for electrocatalytic energy storage or in batteries. Although numerous reports on synthesis and application of new poly-anthraquinones exist, a universal guideline or tool for selection of the best polymer, concerning several energy storage applications, is still underdeveloped. Moving into the direction of developing such a tool, we have selected and synthesized three poly(anthraquinones). NMR, FTIR, UV-Vis, TGA, contact angle measurement and SEM revealed certain structure-property trends, which can be correlated with the performance in the electrochemical investigation. The insights gained within this work demonstrate correlations between the FTIR frequencies and the electrochemical reduction potential, as well as between the polymer hydrophobicity and the electrochemical performance.