Here we report a new redox-active perylene bisimide (PBI)- polysulfide (PS) gel that overcomes electronic charge-transport bottlenecks common to lithium−sulfur (Li−S) hybrid redox flow batteries designed for long-duration grid-scale energy storage applications. PBI was identified as a supramolecular redox mediator for soluble lithium polysulfides from a library of 85 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by using a high-throughput computational platform; furthermore, these theoretical predictions were validated electrochemically. Challenging conventional wisdom, we found that π-stacked PBI assemblies were stable even in their reduced state through secondary interactions between PBI nanofibers and Li2Sn, which resulted in a redoxactive, flowable 3-D gel network. The influence of supramolecular charge-transporting PBI-PS gel networks on Li−S battery performance was investigated in depth and revealed enhanced sulfur utilization and rate performance (C/4 and C/8) at a sulfur loading of 4 mg cm−2 and energy density of 44 Wh L−1 in the absence of conductive carbon additives.
BT - Chemistry of Materials DA - 10/2015 DO - 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b02955 IS - 19 LA - eng N2 -Here we report a new redox-active perylene bisimide (PBI)- polysulfide (PS) gel that overcomes electronic charge-transport bottlenecks common to lithium−sulfur (Li−S) hybrid redox flow batteries designed for long-duration grid-scale energy storage applications. PBI was identified as a supramolecular redox mediator for soluble lithium polysulfides from a library of 85 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by using a high-throughput computational platform; furthermore, these theoretical predictions were validated electrochemically. Challenging conventional wisdom, we found that π-stacked PBI assemblies were stable even in their reduced state through secondary interactions between PBI nanofibers and Li2Sn, which resulted in a redoxactive, flowable 3-D gel network. The influence of supramolecular charge-transporting PBI-PS gel networks on Li−S battery performance was investigated in depth and revealed enhanced sulfur utilization and rate performance (C/4 and C/8) at a sulfur loading of 4 mg cm−2 and energy density of 44 Wh L−1 in the absence of conductive carbon additives.
PY - 2015 SP - 6765 EP - 6770 ST - Chem. Mater. T2 - Chemistry of Materials TI - Supramolecular Perylene Bisimide-Polysulfide Gel Networks as Nanostructured Redox Mediators in Dissolved Polysulfide Lithium–Sulfur Batteries VL - 27 SN - 0897-4756 ER -