Abstract
Sustainable energy storage materials are needed to implement necessary transitions to a more sustainable society. Therefore, we present novel vanillin (and thus ultimately possibly lignin)-derived electrode materials for lithium-ion-based energy storage systems. In the present approach, vanillin is first modified in two sustainable steps to afford bisvanillonitrile (BVN). The precursor materials for the electrodes are made from BVN and carbon black and are subsequently treated in the atmosphere of triflic acid in order to polymerize BVN. Used as a cathode material in a lithium-ion-based energy storage device, the resulting material shows capacities up to 90 mAh g–1 (respective to the whole electrode mass). This extraordinary performance can be attributed to a combination of non-Faradaic and Faradaic charge storage involving quinone units, which are abundantly found in the polymer backbone. In contrast to conventional organic electrode materials, excellent contact to carbon as a conductive additive is established by performing the polymerization in a mixture with carbon (in carbone), allowing the omission of additional unsustainable binder materials. Due to the sustainable synthesis and good performance, such sustainable electrodes may be applied in future energy storage devices.
Highlights
In recent years, interest in sustainable sources of energy like solar, wind, or water power plants has been strongly increasing
Similar bioderived polyphenols like polydopamine have been investigated for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries exhibiting promising results.[6,7]
In order to prepare nonsoluble polymer electrodes that still can be processed in solution, we developed a new method inspired by the well-known dispersion polymerization approach and polymer/carbon nanotube hybrid materials in which the polymer is synthesized in the presence of nanotubes.[6,35]
Summary
Interest in sustainable sources of energy like solar, wind, or water power plants has been strongly increasing. Electrochemical energy storage devices are still based on unsustainable resources such as heavy-metal ores, and their replacement with more sustainable materials is required.[1]. In this regard, electrodes derived from lignocellulosic biomass may be especially appealing. Similar bioderived polyphenols like polydopamine have been investigated for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries exhibiting promising results.[6,7] dopamine cannot be obtained from natural resources on an industrially relevant scale, reducing the sustainability of polydopamine in batteries. To the best of our knowledge, attempts to build a lithium-ion-based energy storage device using abundantly available biomaterials like sustainable polyphenols derived from lignocellulosic biomass without carbonization remain unsuccessful to this day
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