Triphenylamine-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks as Cathode Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries with Coexistence of Redox Active Sites, High Working Voltage, and High Rate Stability.

Through rational organization of two redox active building block, a triphenylamine-based metal-organic framework (MOF) material, Cu-TCA (H3TCA = tricarboxytriphenyl amine), was synthesized and applied as a cathode active material for the first time in lithium batteries. Cu-TCA exhibited redox activity both in the metal clusters (Cu(+)/Cu(2+)) and organic ligand radicals (N/N(+)) with separated voltage plateaus and a high working potential vs Li/Li(+) up to 4.3 V, comparing with the current commercial LiCoO2 cathode materials. The electrochemical behaviors of this MOF electrode material at different states of charge were carefully studied by cyclic voltammetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoluminescence techniques. Long cycling stability of this MOF was achieved with an average Coulombic efficiency of 96.5% for 200 cycles at a 2 C rate. Discussing the electrochemical performances on the basis of capacity contributions from the metal clusters (Cu(+)/Cu(2+)) and organic ligands (N/N(+)) proposes an alternative mechanism of capacity loss for the MOF materials used in lithium batteries. This improved understanding will shed light on the designing principle of MOF-based cathode materials for their practical application in battery sciences.