Asymmetric Charge Distribution of Dual Active Sites in Nitroaromatics Toward High‐Performance Zinc Organic Batteries

Organic small molecules have emerged as promising cathode candidates for aqueous zinc-ion batteries owing to their structural tunability and high redox activity. However, their development is hindered by inherently low operating voltages and limited specific capacities. Herein, a bipolar organic molecule is reported featuring intramolecular asymmetric charge distribution. By incorporating multiple strong electron-withdrawing nitro groups (-NO<sub>2</sub>) within a single molecular framework, the bandgap is substantially narrowed, leading to enhanced electrochemical activity and improved ion storage capability. Concurrently, the triphenylamine (TPA) moiety serves as an efficient redox-active center, significantly accelerating the redox reaction kinetics. This unique charge asymmetry design achieves an alternating storage mechanism for cations and anions by synergistically enhancing redox activity and kinetic performance. As a result, assembled batteries can deliver high performance (356 Wh kg<sup>-1</sup> at 172.5 W kg<sup>-1</sup>, with cycle stability of 10 000 cycles at 5 A g<sup>-1</sup>). This study provides a novel design paradigm for high-performance cathode materials by regulating the asymmetry of intramolecular charge distribution.

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Journal
Small
Published
2025-08-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202507623
Primary Topic
Advanced battery technologies research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Asymmetric Charge Distribution of Dual Active Sites in Nitroaromatics Toward High‐Performance Zinc Organic Batteries

Qi Huang, Lei Jiang, Kang Liang, Abuduheiremu Awati et al.
Small
Advanced battery technologies research
article

Asymmetric Charge Distribution of Dual Active Sites in Nitroaromatics Toward High‐Performance Zinc Organic Batteries

Qi Huang, Lei Jiang, Kang Liang, Abuduheiremu Awati, Hui Zeng, Chengmin Hu, Biao Kong, Yeqing Xu, Yang Qin
article en

Abstract

Organic small molecules have emerged as promising cathode candidates for aqueous zinc-ion batteries owing to their structural tunability and high redox activity. However, their development is hindered by inherently low operating voltages and limited specific capacities. Herein, a bipolar organic molecule is reported featuring intramolecular asymmetric charge distribution. By incorporating multiple strong electron-withdrawing nitro groups (-NO<sub>2</sub>) within a single molecular framework, the bandgap is substantially narrowed, leading to enhanced electrochemical activity and improved ion storage capability. Concurrently, the triphenylamine (TPA) moiety serves as an efficient redox-active center, significantly accelerating the redox reaction kinetics. This unique charge asymmetry design achieves an alternating storage mechanism for cations and anions by synergistically enhancing redox activity and kinetic performance. As a result, assembled batteries can deliver high performance (356 Wh kg<sup>-1</sup> at 172.5 W kg<sup>-1</sup>, with cycle stability of 10 000 cycles at 5 A g<sup>-1</sup>). This study provides a novel design paradigm for high-performance cathode materials by regulating the asymmetry of intramolecular charge distribution.

SmallVol. 21(39)
Tongji University (CN), Fudan University (CN), UNSW Sydney (AU), Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN), Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 80%
Advanced battery technologies research
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