Breakthrough in Sustainable Energy: Researchers Develop High-Conductivity Membrane for Aqueous Organic Redox Flow Batteries

Researchers from Westlake University have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of sustainable energy, developing a high-conductivity membrane for aqueous organic redox flow batteries. The membrane, dubbed "b-DPM-N3," demonstrates exceptional performance, achieving a record power density and up to 42% energy efficiency under 300 mA/cm2 current density. This achievement marks a significant step towards the development of efficient and long-duration energy storage systems.

Key Takeaways:

• The aqueous organic redox flow battery (AORFB) is a promising electrochemical technology for large-scale and long-duration energy storage, requiring highly conductive and selective ion-exchange membranes.
• Traditional porous and microphase-separated membranes often present a tradeoff between high ion conductivity and low crossover of active species, remaining a persistent research challenge.
• The researchers proposed a design strategy that integrates size-confined microphase separation and intrinsic microporosity within a solution-processable Troger's base (TB) framework, resulting in the b-DPM-N3 membrane.
• The b-DPM-N3 membrane exhibits both high conductivity and selectivity, with a permeability of various active materials as low as 10-12 cm2/s.
• This design concept offers broad potential for membrane applications in electrochemical devices.
• The researchers received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), National Key R&D Program of China, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory Construction Project, among others.

Statistics:

• The b-DPM-N3 membrane demonstrates a record power density and up to 42% energy efficiency under 300 mA/cm2 current density.
• The permeability of various active materials is as low as 10-12 cm2/s.
• The design concept encompasses a sequential synthesis approach involving a three-armed branch linker and a semi-rigid polymer backbone.
• The research has been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Joule, Volume 9, Issue 7 (2025).

Sources:

• "A Polymer Membrane With Integrated Microphase Separation and Intrinsic Microporosity for Aqueous Organic Redox Flow Batteries" (Joule, 2025;9(7))
• National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
• National Key R&D Program of China
• Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province
• Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory Construction Project
• Research Funds of Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS