Effects of silver nanoparticle on electrochemical performances of poly(o-phenylenediamine)/Ag hybrid composite as anode of lithium-ion batteries

In the present work, the poly(o-phenylenediamine)/Ag (PoPD/Ag) hybrid composite with the microrod morphology was prepared by in situ chemical oxidation method, and then composite electrodes of PoPD/Ag (PVDF) and PoPD/Ag (sodium alginate) were prepared by using PVDF and sodium alginate as electrode binders, respectively. As explored as the anode of lithium ion batteries, the redox-active PoPD in the hybrid composite, compared to the pure PoPD, demonstrated the remarkably improved electrochemical performances with superior high capacity and good rate capability and cycling stability, due to the improved intrinsic electrical conductivity of PoPD via the introduced Ag nanoparticles in the polymer. As the sodium alginate was chosen as the functional electrode binder, PoPD/Ag (sodium alginate) exhibited the initial charge/discharge-specific capacity of 1452.9/2317.7 mAh g(-1), and after the 100th cycles, the developed discharge capacity for PoPD/Ag (sodium alginate) reached to 1389.9 mAh g(-1), which was evidently higher than that of PoPD. Its stable and representative discharge-specific capacities were 1291, 1044.9, 856.7, 762.5 mAh g(-1) at the current rate of 50, 100, 200, and 500 mAh g(-1), respectively, which were obviously superior to that of PoPD and PoPD/Ag (PVDF), indicating that sodium alginate as binder has the special effects on the electrochemical characteristics of PoPD, which benefited to the capacity release step by step during the charge/discharge process. The works would provide significant exploration for the preparation of high-performance poly (aromatic amine) polymer as the electrode materials.