Anna Maria Habak PhD defense

Organic Chemistry & Interfaces (COrInt) & Condensed Matter and Electroactive Systems (MaCSE) teams

Abstract
Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFB) have emerged as a promising technology for large-scale stationary energy storage. However, their widespread implementation requires the development of redox-active electrolytes combining high aqueous solubility, excellent chemical and electrochemical stability, and suitable redox properties. This thesis focuses on the design, synthesis, and electrochemical evaluation of original ferrocene-based electrolytes for AORFB applications. A new family was developed, bearing one or two solubilizing groups to enhance their water solubility. All newly synthesized compounds underwent physicochemical characterization, including the determination of their redox potential, solubility, and stability to identify the most promising candidates for this application. Finally, a new family of ferrocenes was designed to improve the stability of the redox species. These compounds exhibit enhanced stability, particularly in highly basic media (pH 12), demonstrating the potential of this structure for the design of new, high-performance electrolytes for aqueous organic redox flow batteries. These results, which are part of the Discovery project of the PEPR Batteries, will be the subject of a patent application and will benefit from a CampuStart project.

Jury
Agnès Labande, CNRS Researcher, University of Toulouse / Reviewer
Emmanuel Baudrin, Professor, University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens / Reviewer
Jean-Cyrille Hierso, Professor, University of Bourgogne / Examiner

Supervisors
William Erb, Associate Professor, University of Rennes, ISCR
Florence Geneste, CNRS Research Director, University of Rennes, ISCR
Florence Mongin, Professor, University of Rennes, ISCR

Invited
Charlotte Bodin, Associate Professor, University of Rennes, ISCR

Contacts
Anna Maria Habak, anna-maria.habak.1@univ-rennes.fr
William Erb, william.erb@univ-rennes.fr
Florence Geneste, florence.geneste@univ-rennes.fr
Florence Mongin, florence.mongin@univ-rennes.fr