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Rational Molecular Design of Benzoquinone‐Derived Cathode Materials for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Author(s) -
Yang Jixing,
Xiong Peixun,
Shi Yeqing,
Sun Pengfei,
Wang Zhuanping,
Chen Zifeng,
Xu Yunhua
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201909597
Subject(s) - materials science , lithium (medication) , cathode , dissolution , electrochemistry , electrolyte , solubility , molecule , chemical engineering , electrode , ion , benzene , polymer , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , chemistry , composite material , medicine , engineering , endocrinology
p ‐Benzoquinone (BQ) is a promising cathode material for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high theoretical specific capacity and voltage. However, it suffers from a serious dissolution problem in organic electrolytes, leading to poor electrochemical performance. Herein, two BQ‐derived molecules with a near‐plane structure and relative large skeleton: 1,4‐bis( p ‐benzoquinonyl)benzene (BBQB) and 1,3,5‐tris( p ‐benzoquinonyl)benzene (TBQB) are designed and synthesized. They show greatly decreased solubility as a result of strong intermolecular interactions. As cathode materials for LIBs, they exhibit high carbonyl utilizations of 100% with high initial capacities of 367 and 397 mAh g −1 , respectively. Especially, BBQB with better planarity presents remarkably improved cyclability, retaining a high capacity of 306 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles. The cycling stability of BBQB surpasses all reported BQ‐derived small molecules and most polymers. This work provides a new molecular structure design strategy to suppress the dissolution of organic electrode materials for achieving high performance rechargeable batteries.