Lithium ion batteries have become ubiquitous in the area of smaller electronics rely on the use of inorganic insertion materials, which are often toxic, scarce and require high temperature prosessing, at the positive electrode. With this in mind, organic compounds have enjoyed renewed interest due to an increasing need to develop more sustainable technologies. However, in comparison to their inorganic counterparts, organic redox-active materials suffer from higher solubility in non-aqueous electrolytes as well as an inability to reach comparable discharge potentials. Naphthalene diimides (NDIs) are highly insoluble redox active organic compounds. In this study, a series of NDIs with various substitutions was synthesized and explored in order to demonstrate control over the electrochemical performance in a lithium-ion cell. Altering the aryl substitution resulted in varying the discharge potential between 2.3 and 2.9 V vs. Li/Li<sup>+</sup> while maintaining discharge capacities as high as 121 mAh/g.

Naphthalene diimide based materials with adjustable redox potentials for organic lithium ion batteries

249th National Meeting (2015)

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