Graphite-like structured conductive polymer anodes for high-capacity lithium storage with optimized voltage platform

Pengcheng Mao; Huilin Fan; Guangyu Zhou; Hamidreza Arandiyan; Chang Liu; Gongxu Lan; Yuan Wang; Runguo Zheng; Zhiyuan Wang; Suresh K Bhargava; Hongyu Sun; Yanguo Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.007

Graphite-like structured conductive polymer anodes for high-capacity lithium storage with optimized voltage platform

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Mar 15:634:63-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.007. Epub 2022 Dec 9.

Authors

Pengcheng Mao¹, Huilin Fan¹, Guangyu Zhou¹, Hamidreza Arandiyan², Chang Liu¹, Gongxu Lan¹, Yuan Wang³, Runguo Zheng⁴, Zhiyuan Wang⁴, Suresh K Bhargava⁵, Hongyu Sun⁶, Yanguo Liu⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, PR China.
² Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis for Sustainability, School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Centre for Applied Materials and Industrial Chemistry (CAMIC), School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia. Electronic address: hamid.arandiyan@sydney.edu.au.
³ Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Melbourne, Vic 3125, Australia.
⁴ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, PR China; School of Resources and Materials, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, PR China; Key Laboratory of Dielectric and Electrolyte Functional Material Hebei Province, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, PR China.
⁵ Centre for Applied Materials and Industrial Chemistry (CAMIC), School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia.
⁶ School of Resources and Materials, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, PR China. Electronic address: hyltsun@gmail.com.
⁷ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, PR China; School of Resources and Materials, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, PR China; Key Laboratory of Dielectric and Electrolyte Functional Material Hebei Province, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, PR China. Electronic address: lyg@neuq.edu.cn.

PMID: 36528972
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.007

Abstract

Graphite is a widely used anode material in commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but its low theoretical specific capacity and extremely low redox potential limit its application in high-performance lithium-ion batteries. However, developing lithium-ion battery anode with high specific capacity and suitable working potential is still challenging. At present, conductive polymers with excellent properties and graphite-like structures are widely used in the field of electrochemistry, but their Li⁺ storage mechanism and kinetics are still unclear and need to be further investigated. Therefore, we synthesized the conducting polymer Fe₃(2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11-hexahydroxytriphenylene)₂ (Fe-CAT) by the liquid phase method, in which the d-π conjugated structure and pores facilitate electron transfer and electrolyte infiltration, improving the comprehensive electrochemical performance. The Fe-CAT electrode displays a high capacity of 950 mA h g^-1 at 200 mA g^-1. At the current density of 5.0 A g^-1, the electrode shows a reversible capacity of 322 mA h g^-1 after 1000 cycles. The average lithiation voltage plateau is ∼ 0.79 V. The combination of ex-situ characterization techniques and electrochemical kinetic analysis reveals the source of the excellent electrochemical performance of Fe-CAT. During the charging/discharging process, the aromatic ring in the organic ligand is involved in the redox reaction. Such results will provide new insights for the design of next-generation high-performance electrode materials for LIBs.

Keywords: Conductive polymer; Electrochemical kinetics; Lithium-ion battery; Lithium-ion storage mechanism.