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

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 similar to 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.