In-situ electropolymerized bipolar organic cathode for stable and high-rate lithium-ion batteries

To address the dissolution issue and enhance the electrochemical performance of organic electrode materials, herein, a bipolar organic cathode was prepared by in-situ electropolymerization of amino-phenyl carbazole naphthalene diimide (APCNDI). APCNDI is composed of n-type 1,4,5,8-naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimide that stores Li cations and p-type carbazole groups which react with anions and serve as polymerization sites. Electropolymerization completely eliminated the dissolution problem of APCNDI, and the electropolymerized cathode demonstrated a bipolar reaction with excellent electrochemical performance, stable cycling performance with a capacity retention of 92 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles, and a superior rate performance of 72 mA h g−1 at 10 A g−1. The bipolar feature and reactions of APCNDI were systematically investigated and verified by multiple characterization techniques. Our findings provide a novel strategy for the design and fabrication of electrodes for high-performance organic batteries.