Lewis Acid-Induced Reversible Disproportionation of TEMPO Enables Aqueous Aluminum Radical Batteries

Nitroxide radicals, such as 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl-1-oxy (TEMPO), are typical organic electrode materials featuring high redox potentials and fast electrochemical kinetics and have been widely used as cathode materials in multivalent metal-ion batteries. However, TEMPO and its derivatives have not been used in emerging rechargeable aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs) due to the known disproportionation and possible degradation of nitroxide radicals in acidic conditions. In this study, the (electro)chemical behavior of TEMPO is examined in organic and aqueous Lewis acid electrolytes. Through in situ (electro)chemical characterizations and theoretical computation, we reveal for the first time an irreversible disproportionation of TEMPO in organic Al(OTf)3 electrolytes that can be steered to a reversible process when switching to an aqueous media. In the latter case, a fast hydrolysis and ligand exchange between [Al(OTf)3TEMPO]− anion and water enable the overall reversible electrochemical redox reaction of TEMPO. These findings lead to the first design of radical polymer aqueous AIBs that are fire-retardant and air-stable, delivering a stable voltage output of 1.25 V and a capacity of 110 mAh g–1 over 800 cycles with 0.028% loss per cycle. This work demonstrates the promise of using nonconjugated organic electroactive materials for cost-effective and safe AIBs that currently rely on conjugated organic molecules.