Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are in great demand as energy sources for many applications and research towards finding new materials to improve the performance is underway. Advances in active chemistry are left to the solid-state chemists’ creativity and innovation in the design and elaboration of new intercalation electrodes. Many of the organic compounds are limited by their thermal stability, rate capability, cycle life and low energy density values. Tarascon and co-workers have rekindled interest in the area of organic electrodes by proposing highly conjugated carboxylates, pyromellitic diimides, benzoquinone derivatives, oxocarbonyls, etc. as electrodes for Li-ion batteries.¹In the case of poly(phenoxy-ketimine)s, they have been recognized that molecules with hydroxyl and ketimine pendant groups in conjugation with aromatic systems may be efficient organic electrodes. In this study, we report the usage of poly(phenoxy-ketimine)s, a potentially low-cost, eco-friendly, simple synthesis process, as organic electrode materials in Li-ion batteries (Scheme 1).

References:

1. M. Armand, S. Grugeon, H. Vezin, S. Laruelle, P. Ribiere, P. Poizot and J. M. Tarascon, Nat. Mater., 2009, 8, 120.

Scheme 1.The structure of the poly(phenoxy-ketimine)s