Polymer Chemistry Commons^™

Nitro-Aromatic Polymers For Conversion-Style Battery Cathodic Materials, Brady P. Samuelson

Honors Thesis

The development of organic electrode materials in rechargeable batteries has seen a resurgence in recent decades. This spike in interest is mostly due to the increased investments in renewable energy sources, grid-scale energy storage, and the rapid transition to electric vehicles. Current lithium battery cathode materials typically use some form of lithium metal oxide (specific capacity: 272 mAh g^-1 which has problems with limited capacity, thermal runaway, and an unreliable supply chain. Our research group’s solution involves investigating new lightweight, organic redox groups combined with a conductive polymer backbone to serve as a possible replacement for the cathode in …