Mesoscale Texturation of Organic-Based Negative Electrode Material through in Situ Proton Reduction of Conjugated Carboxylic Acid

Abstract

In situ proton reduction of the conjugated carboxylic acid during the early stage of the first battery discharge made of NDC/Li half-cell affords enhancing the electrochemical reactivity versus lithium by comparison to the related chemically obtained di-lithium Li2-NDC salt. We demonstrate the possibility to reduce electrochemically the carboxylic acid function from which the dihydrogen gas formation contributes to a mesoscale texturation of the particles. This mesoporosity created in the particles enhances triple-point contacts between the electrolyte, the conductive carbon, and the active material while reducing the electron/ionic diffusion length in the particles. We highlight that mesoscale texturation obtained by this method affords to significantly reduce the carbon content in organic-based battery electrode down to 10%, thus stressing the importance of the particles nanotexturation for the field.