Project description
Ionic crystalline microporous polymers for halogen regulation in aqueous batteries
Today’s ever-increasing energy demands require sustainable alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries whose materials are toxic, flammable and expensive. Rechargeable aqueous batteries (RABs) with halogen conversion cathodes offer a safe, affordable and eco-friendly option for grid-level energy storage. However, they are prone to hydrolysis side reactions, shuttle effects and poor halogen confinement, resulting in lower energy density and material degradation. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the i-CRABs project aims to address this by engineering novel ionic crystalline microporous polymers (iCMPs) as stable cathode hosts. These tuneable iCMPS are expected to facilitate selective molecular transport, capture targeted halogens and prevent hydrolysis reactions, thus advancing the practical application of RABs.
Objective
Rechargeable aqueous batteries (RABs) are promising for sustainable, grid-scale energy storage owing to their high safety, environmental friendliness, and low cost. Within this context, halogen conversion cathodes stand out because they uniquely combine ultra-fast charging, earth-abundant resources, and straightforward recyclability, advantages that conventional cathodes cannot simultaneously achieve. Nevertheless, they remain plagued by numerous problems, including hydrolysis side reactions, shuttle effects, and insufficient confinement of halogen species. These issues cause poor Coulombic efficiency, low energy efficiency, and short cycle life, severely limiting their commercial viability. Two-dimensional (2D) ionic crystalline microporous polymers (i-CMPs), featuring ordered frameworks with tunable ionic groups and well-defined transport pathways, represent an unexplored yet promising platform to regulate halogen transport and interfacial reactions. However, the fundamental mechanisms linking i-CMP structural design to halogen conversion reversibility, kinetics, and durability remain unknown. Here, I propose the ground-breaking concept of employing function-customisable i-CMPs as hosts and additives to regulate halogen species, ions, and water transport and advance the practical RABs. By leveraging ionic side-chain engineering with variations in group type, length, and charge density, structurally stable 2D i-CMPs will be synthesised to enable selective mass transport, targeted immobilization of halogen, and suppressed hydrolysis side reactions. An integrated operando characterization and electrochemical evaluation, featuring the first combination of X-ray computed tomography and X-ray fluorescence, enables non-destructive 3D detection of halogen spatial distribution in real time. This project will establish i-CMP design principles for polymer energy storage, guiding the development of optimal i-CMPs and enabling practical RABs with conversion-type cathodes.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management climatic change mitigation
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry halogens
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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01069 Dresden
Germany
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