Ambidextrous polyanthracene/poly(ethylene glycol) copolymer for high capacity silicon anode in Li-ion batteries

The demand for lithium-ion batteries has dramatically increased in the last decade. However, the battery life offered by suppliers does not the level that can adequately meet the needs of end users. The development of new generation materials is so crucial accordingly. The nano-sized silicon with high theoretical capacity as the anode active material is one of the most promising sources, however, there are some problems (volume expansion) need to be solved in the use of silicon. In this study, a new generation polymer binder containing conjugated anthracene units, which gives conductivity and ethylene glycol lateral groups as another segment of the polymer backbone, which allows volumetric expansion with its flexibility has been developed. After preparing an electrode with silicon and developed conductive polymer binder (9:1) without adding any conductive additive, 800 mAh/g specific capacity is acquired after 400th cycle. It is thought that the obtained results will create an important infrastructure for the new generation conductive and flexible polymer binders for LIBs.