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Conjugated sulfonamides as a class of organic lithium-ion positive electrodes

Nature Materials volume 20, pages 665–673 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

The applicability of organic battery materials in conventional rocking-chair lithium (Li)-ion cells remains deeply challenged by the lack of Li-containing and air-stable organic positive electrode chemistries. Decades of experimental and theoretical research in the field has resulted in only a few recent examples of Li-reservoir materials, all of which rely on the archetypal conjugated carbonyl redox chemistry. Here we extend the chemical space of organic Li-ion positive electrode materials with a class of conjugated sulfonamides (CSAs) and show that the electron delocalization on the sulfonyl groups endows the resulting CSAs with intrinsic oxidation and hydrolysis resistance when handled in ambient air, and yet display reversible electrochemistry for charge storage. The formal redox potential of the uncovered CSA chemistries spans a wide range between 2.85 V and 3.45 V (versus Li+/Li0), finely tunable through electrostatic or inductive molecular design. This class of organic Li-ion positive electrode materials challenges the realm of the inorganic battery cathode, as this first generation of CSA chemistries already displays gravimetric energy storage metrics comparable to those of the stereotypical LiFePO4.

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Fig. 1: Li-ion battery versus Li-metal battery working principle, implications for positive electrode chemistry and the molecular rationale behind the CSA design.
Fig. 2: Redox mechanism analysis.
Fig. 3: The electrochemistry of the developed CSA library.
Fig. 4: Correlation between the aromatic UV–vis absorption band and the redox potential.
Fig. 5: Charge-storage performances of selected CSA compounds.
Fig. 6: CSA-based organic Li-ion full-cell prototypes.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

J.W. and X.L. acknowledge the China Scholarship Council for funding. L.S. acknowledges partial support from FSR-UC Louvain for his fellowship. A.V acknowledges funding from a European Research Council (ERC) grant, project 770870-MOOiRE, as well as support from F.R.S.-FNRS through the grants J.0111.16–Equinox, J.0043.18–MESOPOL and U.N011.18–DEMIST. C.M. acknowledges financial support by the MEC, Nucleu-Program, project PN19 35 01 01. J.W. thanks A. Jouhara and E. Deunf for help with the initial experiments.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Jiande Wang, Alae Eddine Lakraychi.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Catalysis, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Jiande Wang, Alae Eddine Lakraychi, Xuelian Liu, Louis Sieuw & Alexandru Vlad

  2. Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Tehnologii Izotopice si Moleculare Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Cristian Morari

  3. Université de Nantes, CNRS, Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, IMN, Nantes, France

    Philippe Poizot

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Contributions

J.W., A.E.L. and A.V. conceived the idea and designed the experiments. J.W. executed most of the experimental work, including the synthesis, chemical, spectroscopic and electrochemical studies. A.E.L., X.L. and L.S. complemented the work of J.W. with experiments and studies. C.M. conducted the DFT studies. J.W., A.E.L., C.M., P.P. and A.V. analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. All the authors discussed the experiments, edited the manuscript and gave consent for this publication.

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Correspondence to Alexandru Vlad.

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Peer review information Nature Materials thanks Kenichi Oyaizu and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary Sections 1–17, Tables 1–7 and Figs. 1–49.

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Wang, J., Lakraychi, A.E., Liu, X. et al. Conjugated sulfonamides as a class of organic lithium-ion positive electrodes. Nat. Mater. 20, 665–673 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00869-1

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