Self-Assembled Organic Nanowires for High Power Density Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

The electroactive organic materials are promising alternatives to inorganic electrode materials for the new generation of green Li-ion batteries due to their sustainability, environmental benignity, and low cost. Croconic acid disodium salt (CADS) was used as Li-ion battery electrode, and CADS organic wires with different diameters were fabricated through a facile synthetic route using antisolvent crystallization method to overcome the challenges of low electronic conductivity of CADS and lithiation induced strain. The CADS nanowire exhibits much better electrochemical performance than its crystal bulk material and microwire counterpart. CADS nanowire with a diameter of 150 nm delivers a reversible capability of 177 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 0.2 C and retains capacity of 170 mAh g(-1) after 110 charge/discharge cycles. The nanowire structure also remarkably enhances the kinetics of croconic acid disodium salt. The CADS nanowire retains 50% of the 0.1 C capacity even when the current density increases to 6 C. In contrast, the crystal bulk and microwire material completely lose their capacities when the current density merely increases to 2 C. Such a high rate performance of CADS nanowire is attributed to its short ion diffusion pathway and large surface area, which enable fast ion and electron transport in the electrode. The theoretical calculation suggests that lithiation of CADS experiences an ion exchange process. The sodium ions in CADS will be gradually replaced by lithium ions during the lithiation and delithiation of CADS electrode, which is confirmed by inductively coupled plasma test.

Dicarboxylate CaC8H4O4 as a high-performance anode for Li-ion batteries

“…Much attention has been paid to the search for electrode materials with low cost, high reversible capacity, and outstanding electrochemical/thermal performance [6,7]. In contrast with inorganic electrode materials, many organic materials have low-cost and renewable characteristics [8][9][10][11] and can be prepared from natural sources.…”

Biologically inspired pteridine redox centres for rechargeable batteries

“…Previous studies on these compounds have shown promising electrochemical properties with high energy densities [10][11][12][13] . Recent efforts have enabled the carbonyl-based organic electrodes to have high power as well as stable cycling performance, hinting at a practical feasibility for a bio-inspired design of energy storage materials 10,[14][15][16][17] .…”

High-performance of sodium carboxylate-derived materials for electrochemical energy storage

“…1a) have very low solubility in organic electrolyte solvents, and this would result in the excellent stability of these salts as electrode materials. The lithium salt or sodium salt of carbonyl compounds is an effective way to enhance the cycle stability [21,22]. Fig.…”

“…Among the various methods to address these problems, the lithiation of organic molecules is an effective method for inhibiting the dissolution of organic electrode materials in electrolytes [21][22][23][24][25], along with doping a large number of conductive agents [26,27] or using large ring conjugated systems [28][29][30] to increase the electrical conductivity. However, in addition to the two important indicators of conductivity and solubility, the storage, sustainability, and cost of electrode materials for lithiumion batteries are also important parameters influencing their application prospects.…”