Changkun Zhang

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics | DICP · Chemical Engineering

Aqueous organic flow batteries (AOFBs) hold great potential for large‐scale energy storage, however, scalable, green, and economical synthetic methods for stable organic redox‐active molecules (ORAMs) are still required for their practical applications. Herein, pyrene‐based ORAMs are obtained via an in situ organic electrolysis strategy in a flow c...

The growing global capacity for renewable energy generation necessitates the deployment of energy storage technologies with a combination of low cost, good performance and scalability. With these advantages, aqueous organic flow batteries have the potential to be the system of choice because they could store energy from organic redox-active molecul...

The environmental challenges and growing energy demand have promoted the development of renewable energy, including solar, tidal, and wind. The next‐generation electrochemical energy storage (EES), incorporating flow battery (FB) and metal‐based battery (MB, Li, Na, Zn, Mg, etc.) received more attention. The flammable electrolytes in nonaqueous bat...

Clean hydrogen production via conventional water splitting involves sluggish anodic oxygen evolution, which can be replaced with more valuable electrosynthesis reactions. Here, we propose one novel strategy for coupling in situ organic electrosynthesis with high-purity hydrogen production. A benzoquinone-derivative disodium 4,5-dihydroxy-1,3-benzen...

Soluble organic molecules with diverse and highly tunable structures are receiving more and more attention as redox‐active materials for aqueous organic flow batteries (AOFBs). However, the undesirable parasitic reactions of redox‐active molecules restrict their practical application. Herein, a general molecular stabilization strategy is proposed b...

Realizing decarbonization and sustainable energy supply by the integration of variable renewable energies has become an important direction for energy development. Flow batteries (FBs) are currently one of the most promising technologies for large-scale energy storage. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art pro...

By virtue of strong molecular interactions, eutectic electrolytes provide highly concentrated redox‐active materials without other auxiliary solvents, hence achieving high volumetric capacities and energy density for redox flow batteries (RFBs). However, it is critical to unveil the underlying mechanism in this system, which will be undoubtedly ben...

Solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) is a promising alternative to existing liquid electrolytes for next-generation solid-state alkali metal batteries for better safety and higher performance. However, the existing SPEs suffer from low ionic conductivity as well as limited chemistries that satisfy practical implementation. Here we report a new class of...

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NARFBs) are considered promising electrochemical energy storage systems to overcome the limited electrochemical window of aqueous counterparts. However, the limited solubility of redox-active materials in the nonaqueous phase, for instance, the intensively investigated ferrocene derivatives, needs to be addressed pr...

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) have great potential to achieve high‐energy storage systems. However, they have been limited by low solubility and poor stability of active materials. Here we demonstrate organosulfides as a new‐type model material system to explore the rational design of redox‐active molecules in nonaqueous systems. The tetra...

With the resonance strategy, a tetraethylthiuram disulfide molecule that shows high solubility in various organic solvents is explored as a promising active material for nonaqueous redox flow batteries based on the reversible redox chemistry of disulfide bonds. This work presents useful insights into designing stable organic redox‐active molecules...

Aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) are promising alternatives for large‐scale energy storage. However, new organic redox‐active molecules with good chemical stability and high solubility are still desired for high‐performance aqueous RFBs due to their low crossover capability and high abundance. We report azobenzene‐based molecules with hydrophili...

Highly water‐soluble azobenzene‐based molecules with an asymmetric configuration and multifunctional hydrophilicity are presented as organic redox‐active molecules for aqueous redox flow batteries. A battery comprising the azobenzene anolyte achieved stable cycling with high capacity and energy efficiency as a consequence of the reversible redox ac...

Redox-active organic molecules have drawn extensive interests in redox flow batteries (RFBs) as promising active materials, but employing them in nonaqueous systems is far limited in terms of useable capacity and cycling stability. Here we introduce azobenzene-based organic compounds as new active materials to realize high-performance nonaqueous RF...

ConspectusThe rising global energy demand and environmental challenges have spurred intensive interest in renewable energy and advanced electrochemical energy storage (EES), including redox flow batteries (RFBs), metal-based rechargeable batteries, and supercapacitors. While many researchers focus on the design of new chemistry and structures for h...

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) stand out as one of the most promising candidates for stationary energy storage with high scalability and separate control over energy and power. Nevertheless, the widespread application of commercial RFBs is restricted by the relatively high stack cost as well as the uncompetitive performance metrics. Developing new-con...

“Fishnet-like” ion-selective nanochannels for advanced membranes are designed firstly to enhance efficiencies and durability of flow battery. Fishnet-like structure with 10 nm ion-transport channels is achieved by tuning the hydrophobic/hydrophilic nanophase separation structure of the membrane, in which the absorbed water molecules are restricted...

In article number 1901052, Yu Zhao, Guihua Yu, and co‐workers explore a class of phenothiazine‐derived molecules as catholytes for aqueous redox flow batteries. The highly delocalized conjugation of redox intermediate endows these molecules with pronounced structural stability. Flow cells based on methylene blue, a phenothiazine derivative, demonst...

Symmetric batteries received an increasing research interest in the past few years because of their simplified fabrication process and reduced manufacturing cost. In this study, we propose the first dual‐ion organic symmetric cell based on a molecular anion of 4,4′‐(phenazine‐5,10‐diyl)dibenzoate. The alkali salt of 4,4′‐(phenazine‐5,10‐diyl)dibenz...

Redox‐active organic materials have been considered as one of the most promising “green” candidates for aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) due to the natural abundance, structural diversity, and high tailorability. However, many reported organic molecules are employed in the anode, and molecules with highly reversible capacity for the cathode are...

One promising candidate for high‐energy storage systems is the nonaqueous redox flow battery (NARFB). However, their application is limited by low solubility of redox‐active materials and poor performance at high current density. Reported here is a new strategy, a biredox eutectic, as the sole electrolyte for NARFB to achieve a significantly higher...

As one of promising candidates for high‐energy storage systems, nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NARFBs) favor broader voltage window and working temperature range, however, their application is limited by low solubility of redox‐active materials and poor performance at high current density. Here we report a new strategy ─ biredox eutectic as the s...

Symmetric batteries receive increasing research interest in the past a few years because of their simplified fabrication process and reduced manufacturing cost. We propose in this study a first dual‐ion, organic symmetric cell based on a molecular anion of 4,4’‐(phenazine‐5,10‐diyl)dibenzoate. The alkali salt of 4,4’‐(phenazine‐5,10‐diyl)dibenzoate...

Given the high energy density, alkali metals are preferred in rechargeable batteries as anodes, however, with significant limitations such as dendrite growth and volume expansion, leading to poor cycle life and safety concerns. Herein a room‐temperature liquid alloy system is proposed as a possible solution for its self‐recovery property. Full extr...

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) have attracted immense research interests as one of the most promising energy storage devices for grid-scale energy storage. However, designing cost-effective systems with high energy and power density as well as long cycle life is still a big challenge for the development of RFBs. Eutectic electrolytes as a novel class...

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) have received significant research interest, but the lack of promising separators with advanced performance seriously hinders the development of nonaqueous RFBs. Here, a robust yet flexible membrane with enhanced selectivity for nonaqueous RFBs is designed via in situ synthesis of metal–organic frameworks (MOF...

Inspired by the solubility enhancement in pharmaceutical research, we report a redox flow battery enabled by hydrotropic solubilization. An almost three-fold increase in the solubility of hydroquinone (H2BQ)-based catholyte can be achieved by employing urea as a hydrotropic agent, and the universal effect of urea on a variety of organic redox speci...

Recent development of high-energy-density organic-based redox flow batteries for large-scale energy storage systems is challenged by the stability and limited molar concentration of the redox-active molecules. Here, we report green and effective eutectic-based anolytes to achieve enhanced reversibility and high concentration through phthalimide der...

In article number of 1802294, Yu Zhao, Guihua Yu, and co‐workers demonstrate a solar‐powered redox cell that can be charged efficiently, solely upon solar irradiation, by integrating a BiVO4 photoanode into a redox‐flow cell. Such a solar‐powered redox cell combines solar‐energy conversion and storage processes in a single device, which may provide...

Simultaneous solar energy conversion and storage is receiving increasing interest for better utilization of the abundant yet intermittently available sunlight. Photoelectrodes driving nonspontaneous reversible redox reactions in solar‐powered redox cells (SPRCs), which can deliver energy via the corresponding reverse reactions, present a cost‐effec...

As one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems, redox flow batteries (RFBs) have received increasing attention due to their attractive features for large-scale storage applications. However, their practical deployment in commerce and industry is still impeded by their relatively high cost and low energy density. Therefore, deve...

Developing greener batteries with new chemistries is a formidable challenge, and a major focus for years to come. Redox flow batteries are receiving increasing research interest for grid-scale electrochemical energy storage owing to their unique architecture. However, challenges still remain by their low energy density as well as corrosive and/or t...

Graphene-based membranes have been explored in different energy and environmental applications. The 2D nanochannel structure and low frictional water flow inside micrometer-thick graphene oxide (GO) laminates make them attractive candidates for large-scale energy storage systems. Through the design of large size differences between charge carriers...

With high scalability and independent control over energy and power, redox flow batteries (RFBs) stand out as an important large-scale energy storage system. However, the widespread application of conventional RFBs is limited by the uncompetitive performance, as well as the high cost and environmental concerns associated with the use of metal-based...

This work demonstrates a low-cost, high-energy Fe-Al hybrid liquid battery that takes advantage of the desirable properties of deep eutectic solvents (DESs). The strategy of additive enables the full charging and discharging of the Fe-Al battery with long cycle life while the stable stripping and deposition of Al is achieved. Using Fe(210) catholyt...

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries are an emerging energy storage technology for grid storage systems, but the development of anolyte has lagged far behind the catholyte. In this work, an aluminum-based deep-eutectic-solvent is investigated as anolyte for redox flow batteries. The aluminum-based deep-eutectic solvent demonstrated a significantly enhan...

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries are an emerging energy storage technology for grid storage systems, but the development of anolyte has lagged far behind the catholyte. In this work, an aluminum-based deep-eutectic-solvent is investigated as anolyte for redox flow batteries. The aluminum-based deep-eutectic solvent demonstrated a significantly enhan...

An efficient and economical technology for hydrogen production via solar water splitting in a newly designed photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell is reported. The core of the PEC cell is a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) that consisted of a TiO 2 nanotube photoanode, a Pt/C cathode and alkaline membrane. The TiO 2 nanotube arrays (NTs) were prepared b...