Book Description

My PhD research has focused on the design of organic redox materials for grid-scale energy applications. These organics, which can be produced from the existing petrochemical supply chain and eventually through a circular carbon economy, offer a more secure path than metals, which often present numerous sustainability concerns with international mining practices and limited reserves. Specially, I have focused on the application of these materials for redox flow battery, a promising technology to enable safe and scalable long-duration energy storage and support deep penetration of renewable solar and wind. Chapter One will focus on the historical development and fundamental principles of this emerging class of materials. Chapter Two and Chapter Three will demonstrate how the tunability of organic structures can be leveraged to design novel materials that overcome the historical performance and scalability challenges of conventional flow battery electrolytes. Finally, Chapter Four will demonstrate how organic molecules can also be used to enhance conventional redox systems. Overall, my research has paved the way for the widespread commercial application of organic redox materials and will hopefully spur additional innovation for the next generation of clean energy devices.