美国得克萨斯农工大学Karen L. Wooley及Jodie L. Lutkenhaus团队开发了一种多肽有机自由基电池。相关研究成果发表在2021年5月5日出版的《自然》杂志。

据介绍，在短短几十年间，锂离子电池通过技术革新，使得便携式设备和电动汽车迅速普及，为社会带来巨大的好处。然而，技术的快速增长对开采锂、钴和其他矿物矿产资源的伦理和环境提出挑战，以及与电池安全使用和无害处置有关的问题。当前，只有少量锂离子电池被回收，进一步加剧了全球战略元件的材料供应短缺。

一种潜在的替代方案是使用有机氧化还原活性材料开发可再充电电池，这些电池来源于合乎伦理、可持续的材料，并能按需进行解构和重建。制造这类电池是一个挑战，因为活性材料在运行过程中必须稳定，且在使用寿命结束时可降解。此外，降解产物应是环境无害的，也应是可回收用于将其改造成新电池。

该文开发了一种无金属基于多肽的电池，其中紫罗精和氮氧化物自由基沿着多肽主链结合为氧化还原活性基团，分别用作负极和正极材料。这些氧化还原活性多肽作为活性物质，在电池运行期间稳定，随后在酸性条件下按需降解，生成氨基酸、其他结构块和降解产物。这种基于多肽的电池是解决未来循环经济中对绿色和可持续电池的替代化学需求的第一步。

附：英文原文

Title: Polypeptide organic radical batteries

Author: Tan P. Nguyen, Alexandra D. Easley, Nari Kang, Sarosh Khan, Soon-Mi Lim, Yohannes H. Rezenom, Shaoyang Wang, David K. Tran, Jingwei Fan, Rachel A. Letteri, Xun He, Lu Su, Cheng-Han Yu, Jodie L. Lutkenhaus, Karen L. Wooley

Issue&Volume: 2021-05-05

Abstract: In only a few decades, lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized technologies, enabling the proliferation of portable devices and electric vehicles1, with substantial benefits for society. However, the rapid growth in technology has highlighted the ethical and environmental challenges of mining lithium, cobalt and other mineral ore resources, and the issues associated with the safe usage and non-hazardous disposal of batteries2. Only a small fraction of lithium-ion batteries are recycled, further exacerbating global material supply of strategic elements3,4,5. A potential alternative is to use organic-based redox-active materials6,7,8 to develop rechargeable batteries that originate from ethically sourced, sustainable materials and enable on-demand deconstruction and reconstruction. Making such batteries is challenging because the active materials must be stable during operation but degradable at end of life. Further, the degradation products should be either environmentally benign or recyclable for reconstruction into a new battery. Here we demonstrate a metal-free, polypeptide-based battery, in which viologens and nitroxide radicals are incorporated as redox-active groups along polypeptide backbones to function as anode and cathode materials, respectively. These redox-active polypeptides perform as active materials that are stable during battery operation and subsequently degrade on demand in acidic conditions to generate amino acids, other building blocks and degradation products. Such a polypeptide-based battery is a first step to addressing the need for alternative chemistries for green and sustainable batteries in a future circular economy.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03399-1

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03399-1