Issue 1, 2017

Self-polymerized dopamine as an organic cathode for Li- and Na-ion batteries

Abstract

Self-polymerized dopamine is a versatile coating material that has various oxygen and nitrogen functional groups. Here, we demonstrate the redox-active properties of self-polymerized dopamine on the surface of few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWNTs), which can be used as organic cathode materials for both Li- and Na-ion batteries. We reveal the multiple redox reactions between self-polymerized dopamine and electrolyte ions in the high voltage region from 2.5 to 4.1 V vs. Li using both density functional theory (DFT) calculations and electrochemical measurements. Free-standing and flexible hybrid electrodes are assembled using a vacuum filtration method, which have a 3D porous network structure consisting of polydopamine coated FWNTs. The hybrid electrodes exhibit gravimetric capacities of ∼133 mA h g−1 in Li-cells and ∼109 mA h g−1 in Na-cells utilizing double layer capacitance from FWNTs and multiple redox-reactions from polydopamine. The polydopamine itself within the hybrid film can store high gravimetric capacities of ∼235 mA h g−1 in Li-cells and ∼213 mA h g−1 in Na-cells. In addition, the hybrid electrodes show a high rate-performance and excellent cycling stability, suggesting that self-polymerized dopamine is a promising cathode material for organic rechargeable batteries.

Graphical abstract: Self-polymerized dopamine as an organic cathode for Li- and Na-ion batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Sep 2016
Accepted
18 Nov 2016
First published
18 Nov 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Energy Environ. Sci., 2017,10, 205-215

Self-polymerized dopamine as an organic cathode for Li- and Na-ion batteries

T. Liu, K. C. Kim, B. Lee, Z. Chen, S. Noda, S. S. Jang and S. W. Lee, Energy Environ. Sci., 2017, 10, 205 DOI: 10.1039/C6EE02641A

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