Cruciform-hinged conjugated polymers unlock the conductivity-hydrophilicity-insolubility triad for high-performance aqueous sodium-ion batteries

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cruciform-hinged conjugated polymers unlock the conductivity-hydrophilicity-insolubility triad for high-performance aqueous sodium-ion batteries

AU - Zhang, Jiang

AU - Jiang, Qifeng

AU - Cheng, Qian

AU - Wang, Ruoxi

AU - Jia, Richen

AU - Liu, Changyi

AU - Xiong, Yuanyuan

AU - Han, Weina

AU - Jin, Zexin

AU - Nuckolls, Colin

AU - Jiang, Lan

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PY - 2026/5/14

Y1 - 2026/5/14

N2 - Organic materials are ideal candidates for next-generation sustainable energy storage because of their structural tunability and eco-friendliness. However, their development in aqueous batteries has been limited by the challenge of simultaneously achieving high electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, and insolubility. Here, we designed a conjugated polymer incorporating 65° cruciform hinges, which promote amorphous structures and expose polar groups at the electrode-electrolyte interface, thus breaking the limitation. When used as an anode for aqueous sodium-ion batteries, this polymer delivers specific capacities of 118 mAh g−1 at 1 C and 80 mAh g−1 at 20 C and retains 91% capacity after 35,000 cycles. Full pouch cells with high areal loadings (10 mg cm−1) demonstrate ultrahigh power output (up to 50 C), excellent cycling stability over 10,000 cycles, and performance across a broad temperature range. This work establishes design principles for structurally simple, durable, and high-performance organic polymers, advancing intrinsically safe aqueous organic batteries toward real-world applications.

AB - Organic materials are ideal candidates for next-generation sustainable energy storage because of their structural tunability and eco-friendliness. However, their development in aqueous batteries has been limited by the challenge of simultaneously achieving high electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, and insolubility. Here, we designed a conjugated polymer incorporating 65° cruciform hinges, which promote amorphous structures and expose polar groups at the electrode-electrolyte interface, thus breaking the limitation. When used as an anode for aqueous sodium-ion batteries, this polymer delivers specific capacities of 118 mAh g−1 at 1 C and 80 mAh g−1 at 20 C and retains 91% capacity after 35,000 cycles. Full pouch cells with high areal loadings (10 mg cm−1) demonstrate ultrahigh power output (up to 50 C), excellent cycling stability over 10,000 cycles, and performance across a broad temperature range. This work establishes design principles for structurally simple, durable, and high-performance organic polymers, advancing intrinsically safe aqueous organic batteries toward real-world applications.

KW - aqueous sodium-ion battery

KW - conductivity-hydrophilicity-insolubility triad

KW - conjugated polymers

KW - organic materials for aqueous battery

KW - polymer synthesis

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105028442503

U2 - 10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102835

DO - 10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102835

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105028442503

SN - 2451-9308

VL - 12

JO - Chem

JF - Chem

IS - 5

M1 - 102835

ER -