Aliphatic thioether polymers as novel cathode active materials for rechargeable lithium battery

Two aliphatic thioether polymers, poly[methanetetryl-tetra(thiomethylene)] (PMTTM) and poly(2,4-dithiopentanylene) (PDTP) were designed, synthesized, characterized and tested as cathode active materials. The chemical structure of polymers was confirmed by FT-IR, FT-Raman, and XPS spectral analysis. Both polymers were found to have electrochemical activity as cathode materials for rechargeable lithium battery by the electrochemical tests. The specific capacity of PMTTM was 504 mA h g−1 at the third cycle and faded to 200 mA h g−1 after 10 cycles; PDTP showed low and stable specific capacity around 100 mA h g−1 even after 50 cycles. The specific capacity of fully saturated aliphatic thioether polymers demonstrated that thioether bonds offered energy storage. It was proposed that thioether bond was oxidized to form thioether cations with the help of ether solvents.