Porous Organic Solid-State Materials for Energy Storage award

Part 1. Non-technical Summary

This project, which is supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program in the Division of Materials Research at NSF, combines research and educational objectives to create new types of organic materials to store electrical energy. Energy storage materials, as part of energy storage devices, are critical components in a wide variety of electronic and renewable energy production technologies. Electrochemical processes underpin most electrical energy storage systems such as batteries and capacitors. Organic materials offer unique advantages: they are readily available, and they can be designed and modified to have the required properties. In this project, researchers from Columbia University demonstrate that simple organic dye molecules can be used as tunable building blocks to form these types of energy storage materials. The research provides a fundamental understanding of the relationship between structure and properties relevant for energy storage performance. Insights from this research, may eventually address a key objective in the energy storage field, namely to design materials that combine the high energy density of batteries with the long cycle life and short charging times of capacitors. Additionally, as part of this project a unique hands-on curriculum is developed that focuses on alternative energy and is designed for at-risk students in the local area. Through this outreach program, these students get immediate exposure to the engineering behind solar energy, which will help propel their interest and understanding within STEM.

Part 2. Technical Summary

This project contains three highly integrated Research Objectives: (1) Tuning molecular subunits to control electrochemical behavior; (2) Testing energy storage performances to enhance mechanistic understanding; and (3) Pushing the boundaries of organic materials for improved energy storage related properties. The combination of expertise, working in concert, enables the design, synthesis and study of organic electrode materials in a feedback loop that fosters a holistic understanding and engenders discovery of new properties. This project, which is supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program in the Division of Materials Research at NSF, creates a new family of organic electron-accepting (n-type) materials for energy storage composed of perylene diimide molecular units covalently linked into three-dimensional architectures using a variety of linkers. The research tests the hypothesis that the structure and electronic properties of perylene diimide architectures can be controlled by coupling complementary molecular building blocks whose chemical characteristics can be used to tune the electrochemical performances of the materials. Additionally, the researchers aim to increase the number of scientists as well as bridge related fields with science through education programs. The coordinated education effort spans K-8 outreach, curriculum development, and research training for undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral scientists. As part of this project a unique hands-on curriculum is developed that focuses on alternative energy and is designed for at-risk students in the local area. Through this outreach program, these students get immediate exposure to the engineering behind solar energy, which will help propel their interest and understanding within STEM.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.