Heteroaromatic organic compound with conjugated multi-carbonyl as cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries

Abstract The heteroaromatic organic compound, N,N’ -diphenyl-1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetra- carboxylic diimide (DP-NTCDI-250) as the cathode material of lithium batteries is prepared through a simple one-pot N -acylation reaction of 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetra-carboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA) with phenylamine (PA) in DMF solution followed by heat treatment in 250 °C. The as prepared sample is characterized by the combination of elemental analysis, NMR, FT-IR, TGA, XRD, SEM and TEM. The electrochemical measurements show that DP-NTCDI-250 can deliver an initial discharge capacity of 170 mAh g −1 at the current density of 25 mA g −1 . The capacity of 119 mAh g −1 can be retained after 100 cycles. Even at the high current density of 500 mA g −1 , its capacity still reaches 105 mAh g −1 , indicating its high rate capability. Therefore, the as-prepared DP-NTCDI-250 could be a promising candidate as low cost cathode materials for lithium batteries.