Modulating Charge Percolation in Biocompatible Norbornene Redox-Active Polymers Obtained Via ROMP

Abstract

Organic redox-active materials are actively being developed as next-generation energy storage systems. These materials have multiple advantages, including superior chemical and physical properties, and excellent electrochemical storage performance compared to metal-based inorganic materials. Specifically, redox-active and conductive polymers have been used over organic single molecules due to the advantages that polymeric materials offer such as good stability, excellent processability, and simple device fabrication. Furthermore, we can adjust the synthetic process to obtain a wide range of desirable properties and can incorporate conductive and redox-active polymers into biological entities to carry out bio-inspired functions such as shuttling electrons through wastewater mediated processes or sensing of heavy metals in wastewater. By leveraging natural processes, our goal is to engineer resistant and sustainable energy storage technologies using conductive and redox-active polymers. To that end, we present the synthesis and characterization, including material and electrochemical characterizations, of biocompatible norbornene redox-active polymers in which we modulated charge percolation by copolymerizing with a water-soluble polymer for potential applications in bio-inspired redox-flow batteries.