Polyimide-Derived Carbon-Coated Li4Ti5O12 as High-Rate Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Shih-Chieh Hsu; Tzu-Ten Huang; Yen-Ju Wu; Cheng-Zhang Lu; Huei Chu Weng; Jen-Hsien Huang; Cai-Wan Chang-Jian; Ting-Yu Liu

doi:10.3390/polym13111672

Polyimide-Derived Carbon-Coated Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ as High-Rate Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Polymers (Basel). 2021 May 21;13(11):1672. doi: 10.3390/polym13111672.

Authors

Shih-Chieh Hsu¹, Tzu-Ten Huang², Yen-Ju Wu³, Cheng-Zhang Lu⁴, Huei Chu Weng⁵, Jen-Hsien Huang⁶, Cai-Wan Chang-Jian⁷, Ting-Yu Liu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Tamkang University, No. 151, Yingzhuan Road, Tamsui District, New Taipei City 25137, Taiwan.
² National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, 101 Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan.
³ International Center for Young Scientists (ICYS), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047, Japan.
⁴ Material and Chemical Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, No. 195, Chung Hsing Road, Chutung, Hsinchu 31040, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, No. 200, Chungpei Road, Chungli District, Taoyuan City 32023, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Green Material Technology, Green Technology Research Institute, CPC Corporation, No. 2, Zuonan Rd., Nanzi District, Kaohsiung City 81126, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, I-Shou University, No.1, Sec. 1, Syuecheng Rd., Dashu District, Kaohsiung City 84001, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Materials Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, 84 Gungjuan Road, Taishan District, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan.

Abstract

Carbon-coated Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) has been prepared using polyimide (PI) as a carbon source via the thermal imidization of polyamic acid (PAA) followed by a carbonization process. In this study, the PI with different structures based on pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA), and p-phenylenediamine (p-PDA) moieties have been synthesized. The effect of the PI structure on the electrochemical performance of the carbon-coated LTO has been investigated. The results indicate that the molecular arrangement of PI can be improved when the rigid p-PDA units are introduced into the PI backbone. The carbons derived from the p-PDA-based PI show a more regular graphite structure with fewer defects and higher conductivity. As a result, the carbon-coated LTO exhibits a better rate performance with a discharge capacity of 137.5 mAh/g at 20 C, which is almost 1.5 times larger than that of bare LTO (94.4 mAh/g).

Keywords: Li4Ti5O12; carbon coating; lithium ion battery; polyimide; rate performance.