Interplay of Porosity, Wettability, and Redox Activity as Determining Factors for Lithium–Organic Electrochemical Energy Storage Using Biomolecules

Although several recent publications describe cathodes for electrochemical energy storage materials made from regrown biomass in aqueous electrolytes, their transfer to lithium–organic batteries is challenging. To gain a deeper understanding, we investigate the influences on charge storage in model systems based on biomass‐derived, redox‐active compounds and comparable structures. Hybrid materials from these model polymers and porous carbon are compared to determine precisely the causes of exceptional capacity in lithium–organic systems. Besides redox activity, particularly, wettability influences capacity of the composites greatly. Furthermore, in addition to biomass‐derived molecules with catechol functionalities, which are described commonly as redox‐active species in lithium–bio‐organic systems, we further describe guaiacol groups as a promising alternative for the first time and compare the performance of the respective compounds.