Redox non-innocent bis(2,6-diimine-pyridine) ligand-iron complexes as anolytes for flow battery applications

Dalton Trans. 2017 Dec 21;46(47):16439-16445. doi: 10.1039/c7dt03915h. Epub 2017 Nov 16.

Abstract

Diiminepyridines are a well-known class of "non-innocent" ligands that confer additional redox activity to coordination complexes beyond metal-centred oxidation/reduction. Here, we demonstrate that metal coordination complexes (MCCs) of diiminepyridine (DIP) ligands with iron are suitable anolytes for redox-flow battery applications, with enhanced capacitance and stability compared with bipyridine analogs, and access to storage of up to 1.6 electron equivalents. Substitution of the ligand is shown to be a key factor in the cycling stability and performance of MCCs based on DIP ligands, opening the door to further optimization.