Organic Radicals for Symmetric Redox Flow Batteries

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are considered one of the pivotal technologies for addressing the intermittency problem in renewable energy sources, due to their modular design that allows for the decoupling of power and energy and high cost-effectiveness in long-duration storage. In this thesis we present several new developments in the field of (symmetric) organic RFBs, which are the following: (1) development of Blatter radicals as novel bipolar redox-active organic molecules for both aqueous and non-aqueous symmetric RFBs. (2) Study of decomposition pathways of electrolytes containing Kuhn’s verdazyl and Blatter radicals as active material that occur during battery charge/discharge cycling. Gaining a better understanding of the degradation mechanism at play is essential for the design of more stable battery material. (3) Method development of spectroscopies for studying battery performance during cycling.