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A polyimide cathode with superior stability and rate capability for lithium-ion batteries

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Abstract

Organic-based electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are promising due to their high theoretical capacity, structure versatility and environmental benignity. However, the poor intrinsic electric conductivity of most polymers results in slow reaction kinetics and hinders their application as electrode materials for LIBs. A binder-free self-supporting organic electrode with excellent redox kinetics is herein demonstrated via in situ polymerization of a uniform thin polyimide (PI) layer on a porous and highly conductive carbonized nanofiber (CNF) framework. The PI active material in the porous PI@CNF film has large physical contact area with both the CNF and the electrolyte thus obtains superior electronic and ionic conduction. As a result, the PI@CNF cathode exhibits a discharge capacity of 170 mAh·g−1 at 1 C (175 mA·g−1), remarkable rate-performance (70.5% of 0.5 C capacity can be obtained at a 100 C discharge rate), and superior cycling stability with 81.3% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles at 1 C. Last but not least, a four-electron transfer redox process of the PI polymer was realized for the first time thanks to the excellent redox kinetics of the PI@CNF electrode, showing a discharge capacity exceeding 300 mAh·g−1 at a current of 175 mA·g−1.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the “Strategic Priority Research Program” of the CAS (No. XDA09010600) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21473242, 21625304 and 21733012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nano Technology and Nano Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Jianghui Zhao, Yanli Chu, Feng Jin & Yanbin Shen

  2. i-Lab, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Jianghui Zhao, Tuo Kang, Yanli Chu, Peng Chen, Feng Jin, Yanbin Shen & Liwei Chen

  3. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Liwei Chen

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  1. Jianghui Zhao
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  2. Tuo Kang
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  3. Yanli Chu
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  4. Peng Chen
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  5. Feng Jin
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  6. Yanbin Shen
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Correspondence to Yanbin Shen or Liwei Chen.

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Zhao, J., Kang, T., Chu, Y. et al. A polyimide cathode with superior stability and rate capability for lithium-ion batteries. Nano Res. 12, 1355–1360 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-019-2306-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-019-2306-y

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