Simpler and greener preparation of an in-situ polymerized polyimide anode for lithium ion batteries

A simplified and greener procedure for in-situ obtaining polyimide anode materials for lithium-ion battery electrodes is developed. The combined polyimide material synthesis and electrode preparation reduces the number of processing steps and treatment duration and decreases the energy required for heat treatment, solvent evaporation, and organic solvent use. More importantly, polymerization in situ on the electrode surface render the polyimide particles a sea urchin-like structure, leading to fast electrochemical kinetics, and significant improvement in discharge capacity and cycling performance compared with materials obtained using traditional procedures. Specific capacities of 1870 mAh g− 1 and 2277 mAh g− 1 at 30 °C and 60 °C, respectively, are obtained. A capacity of 1774 mAh g− 1 is retained after 500 cycles at high current density of 1000 mA g− 1 at 60 °C. This new preparation process not only simplifies the preparation process and makes it greener, but also significantly improves the battery performance, providing new possibilities for the preparation of high-performance low-cost lithium-ion battery electrodes.