Perylenediimide dyes as a cheap and sustainable cathode for lithium ion batteries

•Perylenediimides are investigated as low price and non-toxic organic Li ion cathodes.•The perylenediimide can deliver a reversible redox capacity of 100–130 mAh g−1.•The perylenediimide can show excellent rate capability and cycling stability.

Perylenediimide dyes are a large family of conjugated small molecules with redox-active carbonyl/hydroxyl groups, which can uptake and release Li ions reversibly as low cost organic materials for next generation lithium ion batteries. In this paper, we report a series of industrially available, low price and non-toxic perylenediimide dyes, which can reversibly bind 2 Li+ ions per molecular unit, delivering a redox capacity of 100–130 mAh g−1 with excellent rate capability and cycling stability, offering an attractive alternative to conventional transition-metal-based inorganic cathodes for sustainable Li ion batteries.

Graphical abstractPerylenediimides can reversibly bind 2 Li+ ions per molecular unit, delivering a redox capacity of 100–130 mAh g−1 with excellent rate capability and cycling stability, giving a good example for development of low cost and sustainable organic lithium ion batteries.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide