A triphenylamine-based polymer poly[N-(anthraquinone-2-yl)-N,N-diphenylamine] (PDPA-AQ) with anthraquinone side chain was synthesized by a simple chemical oxidative polymerization. Due to the introduction of anthraquinone units with a high specific capacity in the side chain, the polymer PDPA-AQ has a high theoretical specific capacity, about twice of polytriphenylamine (PTPA). The lithium ion batteries based on PDPA-AQ as cathode active material and lithium foil as anode were assembled and their electrochemical properties were investigated. For a comparison, the electrochemical performance of the monomer DPA-AQ was also studied. Both monomer DPA-AQ and polymer PDPA-AQ have high initial discharge specific capacity, about 129 mAh g(-1) and 159 mAh g(-1) respectively, which are higher than the theoretical specific capacity of PTPA-based cells. The polymer PDPA-AQ has better discharge specific capacity, cycle performance and rate performance than monomer DPA-AQ which shows that the design idea of introducing an electrochemically active carbonyl compound into the polytriphenylamine side chain can improve the specific capacity of the PTPA. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.