Redox active polymer devices and methods of using and manufacturing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10909437-B2
Application number	US-201916687875-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 19, 2019
Priority date	May 13, 2014
Publication date	Feb 2, 2021
Grant date	Feb 2, 2021

Abstract

The disclosed technology relates generally to apparatus comprising conductive polymers and more particularly to tag and tag devices comprising a redox-active polymer film, and method of using and manufacturing the same. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a substrate and a conductive structure formed on the substrate which includes a layer of redox-active polymer film having mobile ions and electrons. The conductive structure further includes a first terminal and a second terminal configured to receive an electrical signal therebetween, where the layer of redox-active polymer is configured to conduct an electrical current generated by the mobile ions and the electrons in response to the electrical signal. The apparatus additionally includes a detection circuit operatively coupled to the conductive structure and configured to detect the electrical current flowing through the conductive structure.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electrochemical energy storage device comprising:
a first electrode layer comprising a first redox-active polymer having mobile ions and mobile electrons, the first electrode layer having a first redox potential;
a second electrode layer comprising a second redox-active polymer having mobile ions and mobile electrons, the second electrode layer having a second redox potential higher than the first redox potential, wherein at least one of the first redox-active polymer and the second redox-active polymer comprises a first zwitterionic polymer unit configured to reversibly switch between a first zwitterionic state and a first non-zwitterionic state; and
an electrolyte layer interposed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer.

2. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte layer comprises a conductive polymer film configured to conduct ionic current by passing mobile ions therethrough between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, the conductive polymer film further configured to not conduct a substantial amount of electronic current.

3. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein under a charge condition, the electrochemical energy storage device is configured to be charged through an ionic current flowing through the electrolyte layer between the first and second electrode layers.

4. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein under a discharge condition, the first electrode layer is configured to be oxidized and the second electrode layer is configured to be reduced such that an electronic current flows through a load device.

5. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer further comprises a low dielectric constant additive configured to screen a zwitterionic charge.

6. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer further comprises a charge compensating polymer configured to screen a zwitterionic charge.

7. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein the first redox-active polymer comprises the first zwitterionic polymer unit and the second redox-active polymer comprise a second zwitterionic polymer unit.

8. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first redox-active polymer is an n-type redox-active polymer; and
the second redox-active polymer is a p-type redox-active polymer that comprises the first zwitterionic polymer unit;
wherein the p-type redox-active polymer is configured to reversibly switch between the first zwitterionic state in which the first zwitterionic polymer unit has first and second charge centers having opposite charge states that compensate each other, and the first non-zwitterionic state in which the first zwitterionic polymer unit has one of the first and second charge centers whose charge state is compensated by a mobile cationic species in an anionic state.

9. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first redox-active polymer is an n-type redox-active polymer that comprises the first zwitterionic polymer unit; and
the second redox-active polymer is a p-type redox-active polymer;
wherein the n-type redox-active polymer is configured to reversibly switch between the first zwitterionic state in which the first zwitterionic polymer unit has first and second charge centers having opposite charge states that compensate each other, and the first non-zwitterionic state in which the first zwitterionic polymer unit has one of the first and second charge centers whose charge state is compensated by a mobile anionic species in a cationic state.

10. The electrochemical energy storage device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first redox-active polymer is an n-type redox-active polymer that comprises the first zwitterionic polymer unit and the second redox-active polymer is a p-type redox-active polymer that comprises a second zwitterionic polymer unit;
the n-type redox-active polymer is configured to reversibly switch between the first zwitterionic state in which the first zwitterionic polymer unit has first and second charge centers having opposite charge states that compensate each other, and the first non-zwitterionic state in which the first zwitterionic polymer unit has one of the first and second charge centers whose charge state is compensated by a mobile anionic species in a cationic state; and
the p-type redox-active polymer is configured to reversibly switch between a second zwitterionic state in which the second zwitterionic polymer unit has third and fourth charge centers having opposite charge states that compensate each other, and a second non-zwitterionic state in which the second zwitterionic polymer unit has one of the third and fourth charge centers whose charge state is compensated by a mobile cationic species in an anionic state.

11. An active tag apparatus, comprising:
a conductive structure having a first terminal and a second terminal and configured to receive an electromagnetic signal therebetween, the conductive structure comprising a redox-active polymer film;
a conversion circuit configured to convert the electromagnetic signal into a DC voltage; and
a storage device comprising:
a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer configured to receive the DC voltage, wherein at least one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer comprises a self-compensating polymer having a zwitterionic polymer unit configured to reversibly switch between a zwitterionic state and a non-zwitterionic state; and
an electrolyte layer interposed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer;
wherein the storage device is configured to be charged in response to the DC voltage.

12. The active tag apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the electrolyte layer comprises a conductive polymer film configured to conduct ionic current by passing mobile ions therethrough between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer.

13. The active tag apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the conductive polymer film is further configured to not conduct a substantial amount of electronic current.

14. The active tag apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the redox-active polymer film comprises mobile ions and mobile electrons configured to conduct an electrical current generated by the mobile ions and the mobile electrons in response to the electromagnetic signal.

15. The active tag apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the conductive structure and at least one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer comprise a continuous layer of the same redox-active polymer film.

16. The active tag apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the active tag apparatus comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

17. The active tag apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a load device operatively coupled to the storage device.

18. The active tag apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the load device comprises at least one of an electromagnetic wave transmission device and an electroluminescent device.

19. The active tag apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the tag apparatus comprises an area in a range from 1 cm 2 to 100 cm 2 .

20. The active tag apparatus of claim 11 , wherein an electrical conductivity of the redox-active polymer film is configured to vary according to a plurality of values based on envir

Assignees

• Univ Arizona State

Inventors

• Johnson Paul B
• Bautista-Martinez Jose Antonio
• Friesen Cody A
• Switzer Elise

Classifications

• Y10T29/49018

  with other electrical component · CPC title

• C08G2261/3243

  containing one or more sulfur atoms as the only heteroatom, e.g. benzothiophene · CPC title

• C08G2261/3241

  containing one or more nitrogen atoms as the only heteroatom, e.g. carbazole · CPC title

• H01M2004/027

  Negative electrodes · CPC title

• C08G2261/312

  Non-condensed aromatic systems, e.g. benzene · CPC title