Synthesis of Arylene Ether-Type Hyperbranched Poly(triphenylamine) for Lithium Battery Cathodes

We synthesized a new poly(triphenylamine), having a hyperbranched structure, and employed it in lithium-ion batteries as an organic cathode material. Two types of monomers were prepared with hydroxyl groups and nitro leaving groups, activated by a trifluoromethyl substituent, and then polymerized via the nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction. The reactivity of the monomers differed depending on the number of hydroxyl groups and the A₂B type monomer with one hydroxyl group successfully produced poly(triphenylamine). Based on thermal, optical, and electrochemical analyses, a composite poly(triphenylamine) electrode was made. The electrochemical performance investigations confirmed that the lithium-ion batteries, fabricated with the poly(triphenylamine)-based cathodes, had reasonable specific capacity values and stable cycling performance, suggesting the potential of this hyperbranched polymer in cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.