pNTQS: Easily Accessible High-Capacity Redox-Active Polymer for Organic Battery Electrodes

Despite a continuous effort to develop novel materials for organic polymer-based batteries, their commercial success is still hampered by the demanding synthesis and the high costs of these materials. To overcome these issues, we developed poly(naphthotriazolequinonestyrene) (pNTQS), the first redox-active polymer bearing naphthotriazolediones, and have demonstrated its promising characteristics for an application in organic batteries. The polymer is effectively synthesized using a straightforward cycloaddition reaction followed by a free-radical polymerization. The electrochemical investigations of this new material reveal a two-electron storage capability, and an electrolyte system optimized for use in Li–organic batteries was established. Coin cells comprising pNTQS as active electrode material reveal an excellent capacity of 135 mAh g–1, which exceeds most of the commonly applied polymer-based materials, while a capacity loss of only 30% over 1000 cycles was observed.