Máté Bezdek

Energy storage and chemical sensing technologies rely on controlling redox processes at the molecular level, yet highly reactive charged and open-shell states are often incompatible with stable device integration. In this seminar, I will discuss how molecular design principles rooted in organometallic chemistry enable redox-controlled function in organic energy storage media and carbon nanotube-based sensors.

In the first part of the talk, I will describe how precise molecular design stabilizes otherwise highly reactive redox states in compounds composed exclusively of low-cost and abundant p-block elements. This approach has led to the discovery of feedstock-derived thiophene radical anions and ambipolar terthiophenes that undergo reversible redox chemistry at extreme potentials, revealing new design space for metal-free proton–electron mediators and organic redox flow battery electrolytes.

In the second part of the talk, I will show how similar molecular-level control enables redox-responsive carbon nanotube interfaces. This work has yielded switchable chemical sensors that operate at room temperature with high selectivity and sensitivity toward analytes such as toxic cyanide. Together, these studies illustrate how fundamental redox chemistry can be leveraged to achieve tailored function across energy storage and chemical sensing technologies.