Perylenediimide dyes as a cheap and sustainable cathode for lithium ion batteries

Abstract Perylenediimide dyes are a large family of conjugated small molecules with redox-active carbonyl/hydroxyl groups, which can uptake and release Li ions reversibly as low cost organic materials for next generation lithium ion batteries. In this paper, we report a series of industrially available, low price and non-toxic perylenediimide dyes, which can reversibly bind 2 Li + ions per molecular unit, delivering a redox capacity of 100–130 mAh g −1 with excellent rate capability and cycling stability, offering an attractive alternative to conventional transition-metal-based inorganic cathodes for sustainable Li ion batteries.