In Situ Electropolymerization Enables Ultrafast Long Cycle Life and High‐Voltage Organic Cathodes for Lithium Batteries

Bifunctional Sulfhydryl-Based Polyimides for Highly Active Cathodes of Li-S Batteries

Sulfhydryl-based polyimides were synthesized by the nucleophilic ring-opening reaction of thiolactone monomers (BPDA-T, ODPA-T, BTDA-T) with polyethylenimine (PEI), and they were coated on carbon nanotubes as host materials (BPTP@CNT, ODTP@CNT, and BTTP@CNT) of the sulfur cathode. BPTP@CNT/S, ODTP@CNT/S, and BTTP@CNT/S as cathode materials not only promote the covalent bonding of sulfur and polysulfide with sulfhydryl-based polyimides but also reduce the shuttle effect of soluble polysulfide in the redox process. Moreover, sulfhydryl-based polyimides can help improve the compatibility and interfacial contact between sulfur and conductive carbon while alleviating the volume expansion of the cathode. In addition, the conductive network of carbon nanotubes improves the electronic conductivity of the cathode materials. The BTTP@CNT/S cathode showed superior stability (the initial capacity was 902 mAh g-1 at 1C, and the capacity retention rate was 88.58% after 500 cycles) and the initial capacity could reach 718 mAh g-1 when the sulfur loading was 4.8 mg cm-2 (electrolyte/sulfur ratio: 10 μL mg-1), which fully proves the feasibility of the large-scale application of sulfhydryl-based polyimide materials.

Long-Term Cycling Stability of Porphyrin Electrode for Li/Na Charge Storage at High Temperature

Bipolar redox organic compounds have been considered as potential next-generation electrode materials due to their sustainability, low cost and tunable structure. However, their development is still limited by the poor cycling stability and low energy density ascribed to high dissolution during cycling and the low conductivity of organic molecules. Herein, porphyrin-based bipolar organics of [5,10,15,20-tetrathienylporphinato] M^II (M=2 H, Cu (CuTTP)) are proposed as new stable organic electrodes. Enhanced cycling stability is obtained by a temperature-induced in situ polymerization strategy of porphyrin molecules. The resulting polymer exhibits excellent cycling stability up to 10 00 cycles even at a high current density (1000 mA g^-1 ) in organic lithium-/sodium-based charge storage devices at 50 °C. In a symmetrical cell using CuTTP as both cathode and anode material a discharge capacity of 72 mAh g^-1 is achieved after 600 cycles at 1000 mA g^-1 . This strategy would offer a new approach to developing stable energy storage bipolar materials in organic-based devices at high temperature.

Electrochemical Interfacial Polymerization toward Ultrathin COF Membranes for Brine Desalination

Ultrathin covalent organic framework (COF) membranes are urgently demanded in molecular/ionic separations. Herein, we reported an electrochemical interfacial polymerization strategy to fabricate ultrathin COF membranes with thickness of 85 nm, by actively manipulate self-healing effect and self-inhibiting effect. The resulting COF membrane exhibited superior performance in brine desalination with the permeation flux of 92 kg m^-2  h^-1 and the rejection of 99.96 %. Our electrochemical interfacial polymerization strategy enriches the fabrication approach of COF membranes and facilitates the rational design of ultrathin membranes.

High-Rate Organic Cathode Constructed by Iron-Hexaazatrinaphthalene Tricarboxylic Acid Coordination Polymer for Li-Ion Batteries

The sluggish ion-transport in electrodes and low utilization of active materials are critical limitations of organic cathodes, which lead to the slow reaction dynamics and low specific capacity. In this study, the hierarchical tube is constructed by iron-hexaazatrinaphthalene tricarboxylic acid coordination polymer (Fe-HATNTA), using HATNTA as the self-engaged template to coordinate with Fe²⁺ ions. This Fe-HATNTA tube with hierarchical porous structure ensures the sufficient contact between electrolyte and active materials, shortens the diffusion distance, and provides more favorable transport pathways for ions. When employed as the cathode for rechargeable Li-ion batteries, Fe-HATNTA delivers a high specific capacity (244 mAh g^-1 at 50 mA g^-1 , 91% of theoretical capacity), excellent rate capability (128 mAh g^-1 at 9 A g^-1 ), and a long-term cycle life (73.9% retention over 3000 cycles at 5 A g^-1 ). Moreover, the Li⁺ ions storage and conduction mechanisms are further disclosed by the ex situ and in situ characterizations, kinetic analyses, and theoretical calculations. This work is expected to boost further enthusiasm for developing the hierarchical structured metal-organic coordination polymers with superb ionic storage and transport as high-performance organic cathodes.

Electropolymerization of Metal Clusters Establishing a Versatile Platform for Enhanced Catalysis Performance

Atomically precise metal clusters are attractive as highly efficient catalysts, but suffer from continuous efficiency deactivation in the catalytic process. Here, we report the development of an efficient strategy that enhances catalytic performance by electropolymerization (EP) of metal clusters into hybrid materials. Based on carbazole ligand protection, three polymerized metal-cluster hybrid materials, namely Poly-Cu₁₄ cba, Poly-Cu₆ Au₆ cbz and Poly-Cu₆ Ag₄ cbz, were prepared. Compared with isolated metal clusters, metal clusters immobilizing on a biscarbazole network after EP significantly improved their electron-transfer ability and long-term recyclability, resulting in higher catalytic performance. As a proof-of-concept, Poly-Cu₁₄ cba was evaluated as an electrocatalyst for reducing nitrate (NO₃ ^- ) to ammonia (NH₃ ), which exhibited ≈4-fold NH₃ yield rate and ≈2-fold Faraday efficiency enhancement compared to that of Cu₁₄ cba with good durability. Similarly, Poly-Cu₆ Au₆ cbz showed 10 times higher photocatalytic efficiency towards chemical warfare simulants degradation than the cluster counterpart.

Covalent Organic Framework with Highly Accessible Carbonyls and π-Cation Effect for Advanced Potassium-Ion Batteries

Covalent organic frameworks (COF) possess a robust and porous crystalline structure, making them an appealing candidate for energy storage. Herein, we report an exfoliated polyimide COF composite (P-COF@SWCNT) prepared by an in situ condensation of anhydride and amine on the single-walled carbon nanotubes as advanced anode for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). Numerous active sites exposed on the exfoliated frameworks and the various open pathways promote the highly efficient ion diffusion in the P-COF@SWCNT while preventing irreversible dissolution in the electrolyte. During the charging/discharging process, K⁺ is engaged in the carbonyls of imide group and naphthalene rings through the enolization and π-K⁺ effect, which is demonstrated by the DFT calculation and XPS, ex-situ FTIR, Raman. As a result, the prepared P-COF@SWCNT anode enables an incredibly high reversible specific capacity of 438 mA h g^-1 at 0.05 A g^-1 and extended stability. The structural advantage of P-COF@SWCNT enables more insights into the design and versatility of COF as an electrode.

Organic-Inorganic Hybridization Engineering of Polyperylenediimide Cathodes for Efficient Potassium Storage

Polyperylenediimide (PDI) is always subject to its modest conductivities, limited reversible active sites and inferior stability for potassium storage. To address these issues, herein, we firstly propose an organic-inorganic hybrid (PDI@Fe-Sn@N-Ti₃ C₂ T_x ), where Fe/Sn single atoms are bound to the N-doped MXenes (N-Ti₃ C₂ T_x ) via the unsaturated Fe/Sn-N₃ bonds, and functionalized with PDI via d-π hybridization, forming a high conjugated δ skeleton. The resulted hybrid cathode endowed with enhanced electronic/ionic conductivities, lowered dissociation barriers of multiple redox centers and a stable cathode electrolyte interphase layer displays a 14-electron involved high-rate capacities and long cycle life. Moreover, it shows competitive performance in full cells even under different folding states and low operating temperatures.

Optimization of Monomer Molecular Structure for Polymer Electrodes Fabricated through in-situ Electro-Polymerization Strategy

In-situ electro-polymerization of redox-active monomers has been proved to be a novel and facile strategy to prepare polymer electrodes with superior electrochemical performance. The monomer molecular structure would have a profound impact on electro-polymerization behavior and thus electrochemical performance. However, this impact is poorly understood and has barely been investigated yet. Herein, three carbazole-based monomers, 9-phenylcarbazole (CB), 1,4-bis(carbazol-9-yl)benzene (DCB), and 2,6-bis(carbazol-9-yl)naphthalene (DCN), were applied to study the above issue systematically and achieve excellent long cycle performance. The monomers were rationally designed with different polymerizable sites and solubilities. It was found that a monomer with increased polymerizable sites and decreased solubility brought about enhanced electrochemical performance. This is because poor solubility could enhance utilization of the monomer for polymerization and more polymerizable sites could lead to a stable crosslinked polymer network after electro-polymerization. DCN with four polymerizable sites and the poorest solubility displayed the best electrochemical performance, which showed stable cycling up to 5000 cycles with high capacity retention of 76.2 % (among the best cycle in the literature). Our work for the first time reveals the relationship between monomer structure and in-situ electro-polymerization behavior. This work could shed light on the structure design/optimization of monomers for high-performance polymer electrodes prepared through in-situ electro-polymerization.