Nanoengineered Ultralight Organic Cathode Based on Aromatic Carbonyl Compound/Graphene Aerogel for Green Lithium and Sodium Ion Batteries

Abstract

Organic electroactive materials are promising alternatives to traditional inorganic ones in green organic batteries. However, their practical use is greatly hindered by the intrinsic electrical insulation and the high solubility in electrolyte. Here, we propose an effective strategy to prepare nanoengineered ultralight materials based on organic electroactive material/graphene aerogel in which aromatic carbonyl compounds are confined in the three-dimensional hybrid architecture. This special structure has been confirmed by SEM, TEM, FT-IR, XRD, Raman spectra, and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. Electrochemical investigation further demonstrates that the obtained composite shows a high storage capacity of Li+/Na+ ions, long cycling life, and good rate capability as cathode materials for Li- and Na-ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs). This enhanced property is attributed to the special structure that significantly improves the conductivity and effectively prohibits the dissolution of active material but also affords good Li+/Na+ ions accessibility to the organic electroactive materials and shortens the Li+/Na+ ions diffusion length. This work can be further extended to prepare various electrodes based on organic materials for energy storage application.