Perylentetracarboxylicdiimide (PTCDI) as Diffusion-Less Electrode Material for High Rate Organic Na-Ion Batteries.

In this work 3,4,9,10-Perylentetracarboxylicdiimide (PTCDI) is investigated as electrode material for organic sodium (Na) ion batteries. Since PTCDI is a widely-used industrial pigment, it may turn out to be a cost-effective, abundant and environmentally benign cathode material for secondary Na ion batteries. Among other carbonyl pigments, PTCDI is especially interesting, due to its high Na storage capacity in combination with remarkable high rate capabilities. The detailed analysis of cyclic voltammetry measurements reveals a diffusion-less mechanism, suggesting that Na ion storage in the PTCDI film allows for exceptionally fast charging/discharging rates. This finding is further corroborated by galvanostatic sodiation measurements at high rates of 17 C (2.3 A g -1 ), showing that 57% of the theoretically possible capacity of PTCDI, or 78 mAh g -1 , are retained in only 3.5 min charging time.