Scientific Achievement
- Researchers in the Inorganic/Organic Nanocomposites program established a molecular charge-trapping strategy to improve capacitor performance of commercial polymers
Significance and Impact
- A molecular additive can block charge transport in commercial polymers by directly modifying their electronic structures while ensuring high film homogeneity, offering a viable path to scalable, high-energy capacitors for harsh-environment power systems
Research Details
- Lewis acidic BCF coordinates imide oxygen atoms in polyetherimide (PEI) and forms mid-gap electron traps
- At 200 °C, PEI with 0.5 wt% BCF delivers ultrahigh discharged energy density and long-term cycling stability
- This molecular approach is facile, scalable, and broadly applicable to a range of commercial polymers
Publication Details
L. Fan, Z. Xie, X. Chen, Q. Zhang, Y. Wang, H. Li, X. Pang, T. Chen, S. Lai, Z. Huang, A.M. Deatherage, H. Gu, M. Chen, T. Han, L.M. Klivansky, S.W. Shelton, P. Liu, Z. Peng, T. Xu, J. Zhang, Y. Yin, Y. Liu, Advanced Science (2025).
Work was performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and in part by the Advanced Light Source and the Molecular Foundry.
