Design strategies for organic carbonyl materials for energy storage: Small molecules, oligomers, polymers and supramolecular structures

Organic electrodes are attractive candidates for electrochemical energy storage devices because they are lightweight, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. In recent years, many researchers have focused on the development of carbonyl-containing materials for organic electrodes. These materials demonstrate promising results as the next generation of rechargeable batteries owing to their fast redox kinetics and structural diversity in design. However, these electrodes still exhibit intrinsic drawbacks such as solubility in battery electrolytes and low electrical conductivity. This review provides recent examples of organic carbonyl-containing electrodes that highlight strategies to overcome these inherent limitations, and pave the way to develop an organic rechargeable battery that has high-energy density and long cycle life.