This review summarizes organic molecule-based electrode materials for rechargeable batteries.

Mesoporous silica structures are of increasing importance as supports for enzymes and molecular organometallic catalysts. For high-surface-area, porous 3-d catalytic supports, the relationship between the exterior particle morphology and the 3-d mesopore structure is of particular significance. This paper describes the designed synthesis of selected morphologies of mesoporous SBA-15, which can be chosen from micrometer sized spheres to hundreds or tens of nanometers sized monodispersed particles such as platelets, hexagonal columns, rice-shapes, rods with tunable aspect ratios, and donuts. These are directly synthesized via control of the fundamental synthesis factors, including initial temperature, stirring rate and micelle packing parameter, rather than by the use of additives that have been generally utilized for specific morphologies in previous reports. The relationship between these basic synthesis parameters and morphologies provides insights into the formation of mesostructured materials.The SBA materials with various morphologies are expected to be useful in applications that require anisotropic or path-length-controlled diffusion.

Developing electrode materials with high-energy densities is important for the development of lithium-ion batteries. Here, we demonstrate a mesoporous molybdenum dioxide material with abnormal lithium-storage sites, which exhibits a discharge capacity of 1,814 mAh g⁻¹ for the first cycle, more than twice its theoretical value, and maintains its initial capacity after 50 cycles. Contrary to previous reports, we find that a mechanism for the high and reversible lithium-storage capacity of the mesoporous molybdenum dioxide electrode is not based on a conversion reaction. Insight into the electrochemical results, obtained by in situ X-ray absorption, scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis combined with electron energy loss spectroscopy and computational modelling indicates that the nanoscale pore engineering of this transition metal oxide enables an unexpected electrochemical mass storage reaction mechanism, and may provide a strategy for the design of cation storage materials for battery systems.