Nowadays, organosulfur compounds provide new options in the development of full organic ion batteries. However, many drawbacks (such as kinetics limitations during the reversible oxidation of disulfides with cleavage of S–S bond, as well as solubility in non-aqueous electrolytes) make their commercialization difficult. Herein, a new concept for the design of organosulfur compounds with regulated redox properties and limited solubility is proposed. As a proof-of-concept, we designed peri-disulfo-substituted 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives, in which the alkyl chain length and halogen substituents (Cl or Br) at positions 3 and 6 are varied. The compounds were synthesized by an originally developed procedure starting from tetrahalonaphthalic anhydride via nucleophilic substitution at both peri-positions in the respective imide. Using ionic liquid electrolyte, it was found that the new peri-dithiolo-1,8-naphthalimides can participate in n- and p-type redox reactions at about 2.0 V and above 4.0 V vs. Li/Li⁺, respectively. The redox potentials are sensitive mainly to whether Cl or Br substituents are available in the molecule architecture, while the alkyl chain length determines the kinetics of the redox reactions. Among all compounds, the chloro-substituted compound with the shorter alkyl chain displays the best kinetics for both low- and high-voltage redox reactions.

Elaboration of Pd-supported catalysts for catalytic combustion is, nowadays, considered as an imperative task to reduce the emissions of methane. This study provides new insight into the method of deposition, chemical state of Pd and oxygen storage capability of transition metal ions and their effects on the catalytic reactivity of supported catalysts for the combustion of methane. The catalyst with nominal composition La(Co_0.8Ni_0.1Fe_0.1)_0.85Pd_0.15O₃ was supported on SiO₂-modified/γ-alumina using two synthetic procedures: (i) aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition (U-AACVD) and (ii) wet impregnation (Imp). A comparative analysis shows that a higher catalytic activity is established for supported catalyst obtained by wet impregnation, where the PdO-like phase is well dispersed and the transition metal ions display a high oxygen storage capability. The reaction pathway over both catalysts proceeds most probably through Mars–van Krevelen mechanism. The supported catalysts are thermally stable when they are aged at 505 °C for 120 h in air containing 1.2 vol.% water vapor. Furthermore, the experimentally obtained data on La(Co_0.8Ni_0.1Fe_0.1)_0.85Pd_0.15O₃—based catalyst, supported on monolithic substrate VDM^®Aluchrom Y Hf are simulated by using a two-dimensional heterogeneous model for monolithic reactor in order to predict the performance of an industrial catalytic reactor for abatement of methane emissions.

In recent years, bipolar organic electrode materials have gained recognition as competitive alternatives to inorganic materials due to their unique multielectron redox mechanism for energy storage. In this study, we examined the mechanism of redox reactions in naphthalimide (NI) derivatives when used as electrodes in lithium half-cells with ionic liquid electrolytes. The NI derivatives consist of three building fragments: an aromatic naphthalene core, N-alkylated imide unit, and a peri-dichalcogenide bridge. The integration of electrochemical and microscopic methods with DFT calculations facilitates the delineation of the role of each fragment in the oxidation and reduction reactions of NI derivatives. It is found that the peri-dichalcogenide bridge is mainly involved in the oxidation of NI derivatives above 3.9 V, the charge compensation being achieved by electrolyte TFSI⁻ counter-ions. The reduction of NI derivatives with two Li⁺ ions is mainly due to the participation of the chalcogenide bridge, while after interaction with the next two Li⁺ ions, the imide fragment and the naphthalene moiety contribute equally to the reduction. Based on the leading role of the peri-dichalcogenide bridge, the redox properties of NI derivatives are effectively controlled by the gradual replacement of S with Se and Te atoms in the bridge. To improve the electronic conductivity of NIs, composites with rGO are also synthesized by a simple procedure of mechanical mixing in a centrifugal mixer. The composites rGO/NIs display a good storage performance, the best being the Se-containing analogue.