Novel benzoquinone- and naphthoquinone-bearing polymers synthesized by ROMP method as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Organic electrode materials have attracted great interest for next-generation lithium-ion batteries due to the merits of low cost, resource sustainability, and environmental friendliness. Dissolution in organic electrolyte is one of critical factors that limit their development and constructing corresponding polymer is an effective way to improve it. Here, we report novel benzoquinone- and naphthoquinone-bearing polymers synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization method, using monomers with an exo -type four-membered ring between polymerizable norbornene and redox-active quinone. They exhibit significantly reduced solubility and demonstrate obviously enhanced electrochemical performance. Particularly, a high capacity (189.7 mAh/g at 0.1C, 1C = 216.1 mA/g), stable cycling (75.6% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 2C), and good rate capability (retaining 80.4% from 0.1 C to 2 C) are obtained for naphthoquinone-bearing polymer, which stand out in naphthoquinone-bearing polymer electrode materials. Our findings offer a rational molecular design and a new polymerization strategy to construct high performance polymer electrode materials.