Journal ArticleKinetic Control over Disproportionation Stabilizes Wurster’s Blue Catholyte for Nonaqueous Redox Flow BatteriesFang, Xiaoting; Li, Zhiguang; Zeng, Lifan; Jeong, Heonjae; Yue, Diqing; Robertson, Lily A; Zhao, Yuyue; Cheng, Lei; Shkrob, Ilya A; Wei, Xiaoliang; Zhang, LuKamat, Prashant VRedoxmers are organic molecules that serve as charge carriers in redox flow batteries. While these materials are affordable and easy to source, insufficient stability of their charged states (radical ions) remains a challenge. A common reaction of these species is their disproportionation. This reversible reaction yields unstable multiply charged states, shifting the overall charge transfer equilibrium toward the decomposition products. Here we show how kinetic controls can be engineered into a redoxmer molecule to suppress these unwanted charge transfer reactions. This approach is used to transform Wurster’s blue, which is historically the first example of a stable radical ion in organic chemistry, into an exceptionally durable redoxmer molecule that persists over thousands of electrochemical cycles.American Chemical Society2024-12-1310611019ACS Energy Letters9125737 to 57432380-8195https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.4c024492055222; 2436843CationsElectrolytesMoleculesRedox reactionsStabilityNational Science Foundation