An organic/inorganic electrode-based hydronium-ion battery

Hydronium-ion batteries are regarded as one of the most promising energy technologies as next-generation power sources, benefiting from their cost effectivity and sustainability merits. Herein, we propose a hydronium-ion battery which is based on an organic pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone anode and an inorganic MnO 2 @graphite felt cathode in an acid electrolyte. Its operation involves a quinone/hydroquinone redox reaction on anode and a MnO 2 /Mn 2+ conversion reaction on cathode, in parallel with the transfer of H 3 O + between two electrodes. The distinct operation mechanism affords this hydronium-ion battery an energy density up to 132.6 Wh kg −1 and a supercapacitor-comparable power density of 30.8 kW kg −1 , along with a long-term cycling life over 5000 cycles. Furthermore, surprisingly, this hydronium-ion battery works well even with a frozen electrolyte under −40 °C, and superior rate performance and cycle stability remain at −70 °C. The authors show a hydronium-ion battery with an organic pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone anode and a MnO 2 @graphite cathode and H 3 O + as the charge carrier. In addition to exhibiting promising energy density and power density, this battery works well even under low temperatures ranging from −40 °C to −70 °C.