Enhanced performance of all-solid-state rechargeable air batteries with a redox-active naphthoquinone-based polymer electrode

Abstract

All-solid-state rechargeable air batteries (SSABs) have emerged as a promising next-generation battery technology, eliminating the need for liquid electrolytes and reducing the reliance on metal-based electrode materials, while mitigating bulky design issues such as excessive mass and size. Herein, we propose an SSAB that uses a novel redox-active polymer containing a naphthoquinone moiety (PPNQ) as the negative electrode material and evaluate its electrochemical performance. The SSAB-PPNQ cell exhibited superior rate capability and charge/discharge cycle stability compared to SSABs utilizing small organic molecules, owing to the enhanced structural stability and redox reversibility of PPNQ. The reduced dissolution and/or possible degradation during repeated charge/discharge cycles enhanced the rate properties (84% retention of its discharge capacity at 100C) and cyclability (98% retention of its charge/discharge capacities over 100 cycles) of the SSAB-PPNQ cell, highlighting the potential of the PPNQ redox-active polymer as a promising candidate for high-performance SSABs.