Toward High Performance Thiophene-Containing Conjugated Microporous Polymer Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries through Structure Design

Poly(thiophene) as a kind of n-doped conjugated polymer with reversible redox behavior can be employed as anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the low redox activity and poor rate performance for the poly(thiophene)-based anodes limit its further development. Herein, a structure-design strategy is reported for thiophene-containing conjugated microporous polymers(CMPs) with extraordinary electrochemical performance as anode materials in LIBs. The comparative study on the electrochemical performance of the structure-designed thiophene-containing CMPs reveals that high redox-active thiophene content, highly crosslinked porous structure, and improved surface area play significant roles for enhancing electrochemical performances of the resulting CMPs. The all-thiophenebased polymer of poly(3,3'-bithiophene) with crosslinked structure and a high surface area of 696 m(2) g(-1) exhibits a discharge capacity of as high as 1215 mAh g(-1) at 45 mA g(-1), excellent rate capability, and outstanding cycling stability with a capacity retention of 663 mAh g(-1) at 500 mA g(-1) after 1000 cycles. The structure-performance relationships revealed in this work offer a fundamental understanding in the rational design of CMPs anode materials for high performance LIBs.