A Novel Anthraquinone‐Containing Poly(Triphenylamine) Derivative: Preparation and Electrochemical Performance as Cathode for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract Organic and polymeric materials are excellent candidates for next generation advanced electrode materials. Therein, 2,6‐Bis(4‐(diphenylamino)phenyl)‐9,10‐anthracenedione (BDAPA) functional monomer was synthesized through Suzuki coupling reaction, and a novel anthraquinone‐containing poly(triphemylamine) polymer (PBDAPA) was then prepared by the simple oxidative polymerization. The obtained novel functional polymer presented a unique urchin‐like morphology with outgrowth of hollow tubular spiny, which possesses the improved specific surface area of ∼129.6 m 2 g −1 and the small average mesopore diameter of 1.78 nm. As cathode material, the obtained PBDAPA compared to polytriphenylamine (PTPA), demonstrated two obvious discharge plateaus, corresponding to the double charge‐discharge characteristics from p‐type triphenylamine and n‐type anthraquinone segments in the polymer, respectively. Also, PBDAPA exhibited an improved specific capacity of 132.7 mAh g −1 and an enhanced rate capability with the discharge specific capacities of 140.6, 124.3, 107.5 and 97.1 mAh g −1 at the discharge rates of 20, 50, 100 and 200 mA g −1 , respectively. The introduction of anthraquinone unit in polytriphenylamine as well as the resulted open pore morphology for PBDAPA was responsible to the improved electrochemical performances, which makes it a potential strategy for the design and preparation of high performance organic lithium‐ion batteries.