Flexible Batteries Project

Lithium-ion batteries are presently used to power the majority of all portable consumer electronics. As portable electronics become smaller and smaller, as well as more sophisticated and even flexible and wearable, new power sources are going to be required.  Furthermore, there are a number of constraints and concerns associated with the current generation of lithium-ion batteries, such as ignition, toxicity, and environmental impact. The flexible batteries project is developing lightweight adn high-rate perforamnce organic-based active materials for battery applications. The use of organic electrode-active materials offers a number of advantages over their inorganic counterparts—namely (1) the ease of tuning of their material properties, (2) increased safety, (3) a renewable supply of lighter materials, and therefore (4) represent the growing trend of moving towards more environmentally friendly alternatives for energy storage.  In recent times, batteries manufactured from organic materials have already been shown to be comparable in terms of voltage and cycle performance to inorganic-based batteries.

The main goal of the research is to develop lightweight and high-rate performance organic-based active materials. The research focuses on the development of organic-based electrode-active materials (small molecules and coordination polymers) for the production of more environmentally friendly organic electrodes/batteries with high-rate performances.