1. An N‐Heterocyclic‐Carbene‐Derived Distonic Radical Cation.
- Author
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Gallagher, Nolan M., Ye, Hong‐Zhou, Feng, Shuting, Lopez, Jeffrey, Zhu, Yun Guang, Van Voorhis, Troy, Shao‐Horn, Yang, and Johnson, Jeremiah A.
- Subjects
RADICAL cations ,RADICAL ions ,ELECTRONIC structure ,ZWITTERIONS ,CHEMICAL adducts ,ELECTRIC potential - Abstract
We present the discovery of a novel radical cation formed through one‐electron oxidation of an N‐heterocyclic carbene–carbodiimide (NHC–CDI) zwitterionic adduct. This compound possesses a distonic electronic structure (spatially separate spin and charge regions) and displays persistence under ambient conditions. We demonstrate its application in a redox‐flow battery exhibiting minimal voltage hysteresis, a flat voltage plateau, high Coulombic efficiency, and no performance decay for at least 100 cycles. The chemical tunability of NHCs and CDIs suggests that this approach could provide a general entry to redox‐active NHC–CDI adducts and their persistent radical ions for various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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