Imino-Linked Carbonyl-Enriched Polymer as a High-Performance Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Organic electrode materials show promise for application in rechargeable batteries due to their potential for high capacity, tunable structures, flexibility, and sustainability. However, the serious dissolution problem in organic electrolytes and the inferior intrinsic conductivity of organic electrode materials limit their performance and practical applications in LIBs. Herein, a novel carbonyl-enriched polymer (PDABQ) was designed and synthesized from tetraaminobenzoquinone (TABQ) and chloranil (TCBQ). The integration of low molecular weight −NH– with quinone units can effectively improve the theoretical specific capacity and extend the conjugated structure. Meanwhile, the hydrogen bonds between C═O and −NH– and intermolecular π–π interactions further enhance the solvent resistance and the charge transfer rate of the PDABQ cathode. Therefore, the PDABQ cathode shows long-term cycling stability (88.8% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 2 A g–1), high reversible specific capacity (234.2 mA h g–1 at 0.1 A g–1), and outstanding rate performance (161.2 mA h g–1 at 2 A g–1, 75.9% capacity retention versus 0.1 A g–1). This work offers an effective and convenient molecular structure design strategy for high-performance organic carbonyl polymer cathode materials.