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Published on: November 5, 2014
Fast-Charging and Durable Organic Cathodes Enabled by Two-Dimensional Supramolecular Polymerization
Li Liu1,2, Xianming Deng3, Qingxuan Chen1,4
1Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China.
Abstract:
Strong demand for fast-charging and durable batteries drives research into high-performance organic electrodes beyond conventional layered metal oxides. However, small-molecule organic electrode materials suffer from sluggish ion diffusion and high dissolution in electrolytes, limiting their practical applications. Here we present sulfur-heterocyclic extension of redox-active triptycene tribenzoquinone monomers, enabling two-dimensional supramolecular polymerization to yield porous multilayer nanosheets with architectural robustness. This supramolecular engineering achieves rapid and stable lithium (Li) storage through cross-flow ion transport dominated by pseudocapacitance. At a current density of 18 A g-1, a power-densed organic cathode (∼42 kW kg-1) reaches 76% state-of-charge (SoC) only in 44 seconds while retaining 79% of its capacity over 5,000 cycles. Its superior high-rate performance and cycling stability persist even under cryogenic conditions. We demonstrate its practicability with a Li-organic pouch cell featuring a high areal capacity of 5 mAh cm-2 and 6C-charging capability to 66% SoC, which fully meets the performance metrics of practical fast-charging Li-ion batteries.
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