Rechargeable battery: capture free radical molecules before it disappears

Researchers at the Institute of Basic Science have managed to stabilize short-lived ions in rechargeable batteries by controlling free radicals.

[Note] The core (è‚Ÿ) is stabilized by a ring structure (NHC), and the rest of the molecule is easily extended. The molecular structure was characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments.

In most molecules, each electron will find a paired partner, while some of the electrons in the free radical molecule are isolated and unpaired. This configuration gives free radicals some unusual and interesting properties that disappear once the free radicals react or interact with other molecules. Researchers at the Center for Self-Assembly and Complexity Research at the Institute of Genetics (IBS, Korea) have successfully synthesized four free radicals, and relatively stable free radicals are difficult to achieve because they react in a flash and Changes produce new stable free radicals.

Unlike other molecules, some free radicals have a spin arrangement that gives them ferromagnetic, which means they can be attracted by a magnetic field. Due to these unique properties, free radicals can find applications in various fields such as rechargeable batteries, molecular spintronics and molecular magnetism.

IBS scientists have used N-heterocyclic carbene (NHCs) to develop strategies to stabilize ruthenium free radicals because they can share electrons to stabilize unpaired electrons of free radicals. The results of this study are particularly interesting, and organic free radicals are known to be very difficult to synthesize because they are less stable than metal-containing free radicals.

The free radical structure was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, and its properties were verified by electron paramagnetic resonance. The experimental results are consistent with the density functional theory. The same research team has recently stabilized triazalkenyl radicals and used them as cathode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries . In the future, researchers will face the challenge of producing more radical chemicals that have not yet been synthesized.