Development of an azo-based organic electrode material for aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries

Employment of environmentally friendly, potentially stable, and low-cost organic electrode material is assumed to be a very promising electrode material for next-generation rechargeable lithium batteries (RLBs). Herein for the first time, we fabricated a Bismarck Brown Y (BBY) as electrode material for aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries. BBY is a prototypical aromatic azo compound with two azo bonds (-N = N-) in their molecular structure with an IUPAC name, 4,4 '-[benzene-1,3-diyldi(E)diazene-2,1-diyl]dibenzene-1,3-diamine. It reversibly reacts with lithium-ion via redox reaction of the azo group. To improve the electrochemical behaviour and stability of electrode material, carbon nanotubes are incorporated in BBY through solution-processing method. The resulting composite (BBY@CNTs) in three-electrode system showed a discharge capacity of 226.56 mA h g-1 which proved that N = N bond can act as an active site for reversible redox process. BBY/C & boxv;aq. Saturated Li2SO4 & boxv;LiMn2O4 full cell showed the charge-discharge capacity at 118.43 mA h g-1 and 107.24 mA h g-1, respectively. This agreeable result mark ably suits this material as an anode in aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries for present and future high energy demands.