An All‐Organic Non‐aqueous Lithium‐Ion Redox Flow Battery

A non‐aqueous lithium‐ion redox flow battery employing organic molecules is proposed and investigated. 2,5‐Di‐tert‐butyl‐1,4‐bis(2‐methoxyethoxy)benzene and a variety of molecules derived from quinoxaline are employed as initial high‐potential and low‐potential active materials, respectively. Electrochemical measurements highlight that the choice of electrolyte and of substituent groups can have a significant impact on redox species performance. The charge‐discharge characteristics are investigated in a modified coin‐cell configuration. After an initial break‐in period, coulombic and energy efficiencies for this unoptimized system are ～70% and ～37%, respectively, with major charge and discharge plateaus between 1.8‐2.4 V and 1.7‐1.3 V, respectively, for 30 cycles. Performance enhancements are expected with improvements in cell design and materials processing.