Effect of radical polymer cathode thickness on the electrochemical performance of organic radical battery

The influence of cathode thickness on the electrochemical performance of an organic radical battery (ORB) with the radical polymer poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl methacrylate) (PTMA) as the cathode active material is presented. The ORB consists of lithium metal anode and PTMA cathode with an active material content of 40 wt.%. An increase in cathode thickness results in a decrease in specific capacity and discharge voltage of the cell and an increase in electrode/electrolyte interfacial resistance. The best performance is achieved with a thin cathode of 17 μm that shows nearly 100% utilization of the active material (∼ 111 mAh/g) at current densities up to 1.0 mA/cm2. The cell exhibits excellent high-rate capability and cycle characteristics with a stable impedance behavior and an intact cathode structure on cycling. The results demonstrate that high performance can be achieved from the non-conductive PTMA cathode with higher active material content by using a thin and properly prepared cathode consisting of a uniform, nanometer range coating of the polymer layer on the conductive carbon particles.