Perylenetetracarboxylic Diimide as Diffusion‐Less Electrode Material for High‐Rate Organic Na‐Ion Batteries

• Published in: Chemistry : a European journal Vol. 26; no. 72; pp. 17559 - 17566
• Main Authors: Liebl, Sebastian, Werner, Daniel, Apaydin, Dogukan H., Wielend, Dominik, Geistlinger, Katharina, Portenkirchner, Engelbert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 23.12.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Batteries; Carbonyl compounds; Carbonyls; Charging; Chemistry; Diffusion rate; diffusion-less electrode; Diimide; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Ion storage; organic; perylenetetracarboxylic diimide; Pigments; Rechargeable batteries; sodium; Sodium-ion batteries; Storage capacity; sodium; perylenetetracarboxylic diimide; batteries; organic; diffusion-less electrode
• ISSN: 0947-6539; 1521-3765
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.202003624

In this work 3,4,9,10‐perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) is investigated as electrode material for organic Na‐ion batteries. Since PTCDI is a widely used industrial pigment, it may turn out to be a cost‐effective, abundant, and environmentally benign cathode material for secondary Na‐ion batteries. Among other carbonyl pigments, PTCDI is especially interesting due to its high Na‐storage capacity in combination with remarkable high rate capabilities. The detailed analysis of cyclic voltammetry measurements reveals a diffusion‐less mechanism, suggesting that Na‐ion storage in the PTCDI film allows for exceptionally fast charging/discharging rates. This finding is further corroborated by galvanostatic sodiation measurements at high rates of 17 C (2.3 A g−1), showing that 57 % of the theoretically possible capacity of PTCDI, or 78 mAh g−1, are attained in only 3.5 min charging time. Fast, faster, dye: Growing costs and limited resources of lithium has triggered scientific interest in sodium‐ion storage. We demonstrate that a H‐terminated perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (H2PTCDI) film allows for remarkably fast charging/discharging rates, governed by a diffusion‐less mechanism. Consequently, exceptionally high sodiation rates are possible, with full sodiation being possible in about 3.5 min is.