Electrochemical properties of PABTH as cathode materials for rechargeable lithium battery

The electrochemical properties of polyanthra [1′,9′,8′-b,c,d,e] [4′,10′,5′-b′,c′,d′,e′]bis-[1,6,6a(6a-SIV)trithia]pentalene (PABTH) were studied. It is found that PABTH exhibits a good cyclability and high capacity of 290 mAh/g in 1 M LiTFSI/DXL–DME (2:1 by weight) electrolyte. Detailed electrochemical characterization reveals that the capacity fading of PABTH within the first several cycles is due to the loss of ABTH monomer or its oligomer that is contained in PABTH in the form of soluble discharging products. It also needs to be noted that PABTH and ABTH has much higher charge–discharge efficiency (up to 95%) than that of sulfur (below 85%) because the S–S bond is fixed to the backbone.