Organic batteries based on just redox polymers

Redox-active polymers have gained interest as environmentally friendly alternative to inorganic materials in applications such as electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. All-polymer batteries were first disregarded with respect to other technologies due to their lower energy densities. However, the inherent benefits of redox polymers such as processability, flexibility, recyclability, high-rate performance and the perspec- tive to prepare batteries from renewable resources has re-ignited interest in recent years. This review article aims to provide a comprehensive overview on the state of the art of batteries in which the ac- tive material is a redox polymer; including “static”all-polymer batteries and polymer-air batteries but also “flowing”systems such as polymer based redox-flow batteries (pRFB). First, a succinct overview of the recent developments of redox polymers will be given, summarizing the historic trends and develop- ments. Second, an exhaustive discussion of the various battery prototypes will be provided, considering all steps in the development of organic batteries just based in redox polymers. Finally, future perspec- tives on all-polymer batteries will be discussed, summarizing the major challenges that are still to be overcome to unlock their commercial implementation.