Anthraquinone Derivatives with Diphenylamino or Carbazole Groups: Organic Active Materials for Use in Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Organic materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are potential candidates from the viewpoint of resource sustainability and renewable energy usage. Herein, the anthraquinone derivatives bearing diphenyl amino or carbazole groups, which can couple each other at the para-position carbon, are investigated as active materials for LIBs. Electrochemical analysis of their solutions reveals that these molecules undergo polymerizations. LIBs comprising these molecules exhibit the charge-discharge properties reflecting "in-cell polymerization". The discharge capacities of these molecules, ≈200 mAh g^-1, are high enough compared to those of conventional inorganic electrode materials used in general LIBs. This work is believed to shed light on the new concept of organic active material design and to encourage more efforts to develop organic active materials toward practical organic batteries.