Polymerization in carbone : a novel method for the synthesis of more sustainable electrodes and their application as cathodes for lithium–organic energy storage materials based on vanillin

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