Azine-based polymers with a two-electron redox process as cathode materials for organic batteries

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2020-06, Vol.8 (22), p.11195-1121
• Main Authors: Acker, Pascal, Speer, Martin E, Wössner, Jan S, Esser, Birgit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Azines; Batteries; Cathodes; Crosslinking; Crystallography; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Energy efficiency; Lithium; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Polymers; Specific capacity; Sustainability; Toxicity
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ta04083e

There is a growing interest in organic-based cathode materials for batteries due to their higher sustainability, low toxicity and energy-efficient production and recycling. Organic p-type compounds that undergo two reversible oxidations are relatively rare, but can provide a higher specific capacity compared to molecules undergoing one-electron processes. We herein present azine (N-N-linked diimine)-based polymers featuring two reversible oxidations at attractive potentials of 2.9 and 3.3 V vs. Li/Li + . A cross-linked and end-capped azine-based polymer provided good cycling stability in a Li-based half cell and an available specific capacity of 133 mA h g −1 paired with a high rate performance up to 100C rate. Our study introduces azines as attractive cathode-active battery materials. Azine-based polymers as cathode-active materials with a two-electron redox process show a high specific capacity of up to 133 mA h g −1 in Li-organic batteries at potentials of 2.9 and 3.3 V vs. Li/Li + paired with a high rate performance up to 100C.