Lithium storage mechanisms in purpurin based organic lithium ion battery electrodes

Abstract

Current lithium batteries operate on inorganic insertion compounds to power a diverse range of applications, but recently there is a surging demand to develop environmentally friendly green electrode materials. To develop sustainable and eco-friendly lithium ion batteries, we report reversible lithium ion storage properties of a naturally occurring and abundant organic compound purpurin, which is non-toxic and derived from the plant madder. The carbonyl/hydroxyl groups present in purpurin molecules act as redox centers and reacts electrochemically with Li-ions during the charge/discharge process. The mechanism of lithiation of purpurin is fully elucidated using NMR, UV and FTIR spectral studies. The formation of the most favored six membered binding core of lithium ion with carbonyl groups of purpurin and hydroxyl groups at C-1 and C-4 positions respectively facilitated lithiation process, whereas hydroxyl group at C-2 position remains unaltered.

A common tattoo chemical for energy storage: henna plant-derived naphthoquinone dimer as a green and sustainable cathode material for Li-ion batteries

“…11 However, these materials themselves suffer from a number of issues, including poor thermal and chemical stability, conductivity, and lack of compatible electrolytes. [12][13][14][15] Groups like that of Jean-Marie Tarascon 16 and our own 17 were amongst the rst to suggest that small organic molecules, which bind Li via polar oxygen-containing functional groups, 18,19 were capable of displaying comparable electrochemical activities to more traditional electrode materials. 20,21 Purpurin, a naturally occurring organic dye derived from the madder plant, was rst shown by our group to achieve specic capacities of up to $150 mA h g À1 (comparable to LIB) as a result of binding two Li atoms.…”

“…20,21 Purpurin, a naturally occurring organic dye derived from the madder plant, was rst shown by our group to achieve specic capacities of up to $150 mA h g À1 (comparable to LIB) as a result of binding two Li atoms. 17,21 To reduce the carbon footprint associated with the battery lifecycle, we aim to further discover and develop easily recyclable batteries from sustainable (green) materials extracted from plants and biomass. As part of this ongoing effort, we investigated bislawsone (BL), a dimer of 2-hydroxy-1,4naphthoquinone (lawsone).…”

Biologically derived melanin electrodes in aqueous sodium-ion energy storage devices

“…There are numerous examples of electrodes that use organic electrolytes for applications in high-density lithium-ion energy storage (17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Organic electrodes are advantageous because they can be fabricated into nonconventional device formats that are curvilinear, flexible, and stretchable (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27).…”

Biologically inspired pteridine redox centres for rechargeable batteries

“…O rganic materials represent an attractive alternative to transition metal oxide cathodes in conventional rechargeable batteries because of their light weight, structural flexibility and chemical diversity 1,2 . In particular, organic molecules that mimic redox centres in biological energy transduction have gained a great deal of attention for their sustainability and universal availability in natural systems 3,4 .…”