The influence of the electrolyte composition on the electrochemical behaviour of cathodic materials for organic radical batteries

Poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-N-oxymethacrylate) (PTMA) is presently considered as one of the most promising cathodic materials for the realization of advanced organic radical batteries (ORBs). In this work we report an investigation about the influence of three electrolytes, namely 1 M tetraethylammoniumbis(tri-fluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (Et4NTFSI) in propylene carbonate (PC); 1 M 1-butyl-1-methylpyrro-lidiuniumbis (trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl)imide (Pyr(14)TFSI) in PC and neat Pyr(14)TFSI, on the electrochemical performance of PTMA-based cathodes. The results of this study showed that the electrolyte composition has a significant effect on the performance of PTMA-based electrodes. The use of Pyr(14)TFSI appears particularly promising as it allows the realization of electrodes with very good cycling stability (almost 90% of capacity retention after 10.000 cycles carried out at 10C) and very low self-discharge.