Europium Macrocyclic Complexes With Rigid High‐Symmetry Coordination Geometry for High‐Voltage and Durable Neutral Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries

ABSTRACT Neutral aqueous redox flow batteries (ARFBs) are promising for grid‐scale energy storage because of their intrinsic safety, low corrosiveness, and environmental compatibility, yet achieving both high energy density and long‐term stability remains challenging. Herein, we report a coordination‐geometry‐regulated europium macroheterocyclic complex in which a Eu 3+ /Eu 2+ redox centre is efficiently stabilized by a rigid square‐antiprismatic coordinated 1,4,7,10 ‐tetraazacyclododecane‐ N,N′,N′′,N′′′ ‐tetraacetic acid (DOTA) ligand, namely Eu(DOTA). This rigid macrocyclic framework efficiently preserves the structural integrity of the complex during extended redox cycling. Theoretical calculations and spectroscopic characterization reveal that the highly symmetric Eu–O/Eu–N coordination shell homogenizes Eu–ligand interactions, significantly elevating the kinetic barrier for the first water‐coordination event. Thus, Eu(DOTA) resists water‐induced coordination changes and structural rearrangement, while its organized solvation shell is associated with reduced membrane crossover. Consequently, the Eu(DOTA)‐based negolyte exhibits a high aqueous solubility (up to 2.2 M) and a high operating voltage of 1.43 V in neutral Eu‐Fe ARFBs. At 1.0 M, the battery delivers 23.8–24.4 Ah L −1 and sustains 2000 cycles (103 days), with decay rates of 0.0070% and 0.0023% per cycle over the initial 360 and subsequent 1640 cycles, respectively. These results establish a coordination‐environment‐guided strategy for designing high‐voltage, long‐lived neutral ARFBs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-09-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.7044020
Primary Topic
Advanced battery technologies research
Type
article
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article

Europium Macrocyclic Complexes With Rigid High‐Symmetry Coordination Geometry for High‐Voltage and Durable Neutral Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries

Yongkang Chen, Tengfei Dai, Binze Yang, Zhong Jin et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Advanced battery technologies research
article

Europium Macrocyclic Complexes With Rigid High‐Symmetry Coordination Geometry for High‐Voltage and Durable Neutral Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries

Yongkang Chen, Tengfei Dai, Binze Yang, Zhong Jin, Pengbo Zhang, Sheng Wen, Zuoxiu Tie, Qingbo Guo, Jianwen Guo, Yuzhu Liu, Peng Liu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Neutral aqueous redox flow batteries (ARFBs) are promising for grid‐scale energy storage because of their intrinsic safety, low corrosiveness, and environmental compatibility, yet achieving both high energy density and long‐term stability remains challenging. Herein, we report a coordination‐geometry‐regulated europium macroheterocyclic complex in which a Eu 3+ /Eu 2+ redox centre is efficiently stabilized by a rigid square‐antiprismatic coordinated 1,4,7,10 ‐tetraazacyclododecane‐ N,N′,N′′,N′′′ ‐tetraacetic acid (DOTA) ligand, namely Eu(DOTA). This rigid macrocyclic framework efficiently preserves the structural integrity of the complex during extended redox cycling. Theoretical calculations and spectroscopic characterization reveal that the highly symmetric Eu–O/Eu–N coordination shell homogenizes Eu–ligand interactions, significantly elevating the kinetic barrier for the first water‐coordination event. Thus, Eu(DOTA) resists water‐induced coordination changes and structural rearrangement, while its organized solvation shell is associated with reduced membrane crossover. Consequently, the Eu(DOTA)‐based negolyte exhibits a high aqueous solubility (up to 2.2 M) and a high operating voltage of 1.43 V in neutral Eu‐Fe ARFBs. At 1.0 M, the battery delivers 23.8–24.4 Ah L −1 and sustains 2000 cycles (103 days), with decay rates of 0.0070% and 0.0023% per cycle over the initial 360 and subsequent 1640 cycles, respectively. These results establish a coordination‐environment‐guided strategy for designing high‐voltage, long‐lived neutral ARFBs.

Angewandte Chemie
National Institute of Clean and Low-Carbon Energy (CN), Green Chemistry (PL)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 21%
Advanced battery technologies research
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