Title
Recyclable Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Hydrogels for Pseudocapacitor Fabrication
Author
Jiang, Yan (National University of Singapore)
Vázquez, Ricardo Javier (National University of Singapore; Nanyang Technological University; Indiana University - Purdue University)
McCuskey, Samantha R. (National University of Singapore; Nanyang Technological University)
Yip, Benjamin Rui Peng (National University of Singapore)
Quek, Glenn (National University of Singapore)
Ohayon, David (National University of Singapore)
Kundukad, Binu (Nanyang Technological University)
Wang, Xuehang (TU Delft RST/Storage of Electrochemical Energy) 
Bazan, Guillermo C. (National University of Singapore; Nanyang Technological University; University of California)
Date
2024
Abstract
In alignment with widespread interest in carbon neutralization and sustainable practices, we disclose that conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) hydrogels are a type of recyclable, electrochemically stable, and environmentally friendly pseudocapacitive material for energy storage applications. By leveraging ionic-electronic coupling in a relatively fluid medium, one finds that hydrogels prepared using a fresh batch of an anionic CPE, namely, Pris-CPE-K, exhibit a specific capacitance of 32.6 ± 6.6 F g-1 in 2 M NaCl and are capable of 80% (26.1 ± 6.5 F g-1) capacitance retention after 100,000 galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) cycles at a current density (J) of 10 A g-1. We note that equilibration under a constant potential prior to GCD analysis leads to the K+ counterions in the CPE exchanging with Na+ and, thus, the relevant active material Pris-CPE-Na. It is possible to remove the CPE material from the electrochemical cell via extraction with water and to carry out a simple purification through dialysis to produce a recycled material, namely Re-CPE-Na. The recycling workup has no significant detrimental impact on the electrochemical performance. Specifically, Re-CPE-Na hydrogels display an initial specific capacitance of 26.3 ± 1.2 F g-1 (at 10 A g-1) and retain 77% of the capacitance after a subsequent 100,000 GCD cycles. Characterization by NMR, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopies, together with XPS and GPC measurements, revealed no change in the structure of the backbone or side chains. However, rheological measurements gave evidence of a slight loss in G′ and G′′. Overall, that CPE hydrogels display recyclability argues in favor of considering them as a novel materials platform for energy storage applications within an economically viable circular recycling strategy.
Subject
conjugated polyelectrolytes
cycling stability
energy storage
organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors
recyclable pseudocapacitive material
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:090488a2-8ca2-4a3d-afab-950d736c43b0
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c13137
Embargo date
2024-06-27
ISSN
1944-8244
Source
ACS applied materials & interfaces
Bibliographical note
Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.
Part of collection
Institutional Repository
Document type
review
Rights
© 2024 Yan Jiang, Ricardo Javier Vázquez, Samantha R. McCuskey, Benjamin Rui Peng Yip, Glenn Quek, David Ohayon, Binu Kundukad, Xuehang Wang, Guillermo C. Bazan