The application discloses an asymmetric
viologen compound and application thereof in water-based flow batteries, and particularly relates to the following steps: taking 4,4'-dipyridine and iodomethane as starting materials, introducing hydrophilic groups such as phosphonic acid groups,
sulfonic acid groups or
quaternary ammonium salts into both ends of the dipyridine through two-step
alkylation, and obtaining a high-purity target product after
ion exchange. The derivative has high water
solubility (>1.3 mol / L), low transmembrane permeability, a suitable
redox potential and excellent electrochemical reversibility. The asymmetric
viologen compound is used as a negative
electrolyte active molecule, the TEMPO derivative is used as a positive
electrolyte active molecule, a neutral salt is used as a
supporting electrolyte, a
titanium plate or a
graphite plate is used as a
current collector of the positive and negative electrodes, a
graphite felt or a
carbon felt is used as the positive and negative electrodes, a commercial anion exchange membrane is used between the positive and negative electrolytes, and a water-based
flow battery is assembled. The preparation process is simple, raw materials are cheap and easy to obtain, and the application is suitable for large-scale
energy storage systems.