An organic composite anode with multiple active points for aqueous lithium-ion batteries

As one of the promising anode materials for lithium ion battery, organic materials are widely regarded. Hence, poly (1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic sulfonyl) imine (PNSI) exhibits promising electrochemical performance as the anode of aqueous lithium-ion batteries (ALIBs) owning to presence of redox CO and SO groups. However, this PNSI has low electronic conductivity, so a significant amount of conducting carbon is required in the preparation of PNSI electrode to achieve good conductivity, which remarkably reduced the specific capacity of the electrode. In this study, a simple in-situ graphene coating method is developed and the obtained PNSI@rGO composite displays significantly improved electrochemical performance. The PNSI wrapped by 20.5% rGO ([email protected]%) has a specific discharge capacity of 141.8 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1A g−1 without the addition of a any extra conductive agents. The capacity retention ratio of [email protected]%||LiMn2O4 full cell assembled with [email protected]% as anode and LiMn2O4 as cathode is 83.0% after 1000 cycles at 1A g−1. The excellent electrochemical performance of [email protected]% composite makes it a potential anode material for ALIBs.