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Title: Molecular-Confinement of Polysulfide within Mesoscale Electrodes for the Practical Application of Lithium Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPC) and multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) have been frequently studied to immobilize sulfur in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, neither NPC nor MWCNT itself can effectively confine the soluble polysufides if cathode thickness e.g. sulfur loading is increased. In this work, NPC was combined with MWCNT to construct an integrated host structure to immobilize sulfur at a relevant scale. The function of doped nitrogen atoms was revisited and found to effectively attract sulfur radicals generated during the electrochemical process. The addition of MWCNT facilitated the uniform coating of sulfur nanocomposites to a practically usable thickness and homogenized the distribution of sulfur particles in the pristine electrodes, while NPC provided sufficient pore volume to trap dissolved species. More importantly, the wetting issue, the critical challenge for thick sulfur cathodes, is also mitigated after the adoption of MWCNT, leading to a high areal capacity of ca. 2.5 mAh/cm2 with capacity retention of 81.6% over 100 cycles

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1184906
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-106980
47414; KC0208010
DOE Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Nano Energy, 13:267-274
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Nano Energy, 13:267-274
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
lithium sulfur battery; mesoscale electrode; nitrogen-doped carbon; sulfur cathode; Multi-walled Carbon nanotubes; thick electrode; Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Citation Formats

Chen, Junzheng, Wu, Dangxin, Walter, Eric D., Engelhard, Mark H., Bhattacharya, Priyanka, Pan, Huilin, Shao, Yuyan, Gao, Fei, Xiao, Jie, and Liu, Jun. Molecular-Confinement of Polysulfide within Mesoscale Electrodes for the Practical Application of Lithium Sulfur Batteries. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2015.01.031.
Chen, Junzheng, Wu, Dangxin, Walter, Eric D., Engelhard, Mark H., Bhattacharya, Priyanka, Pan, Huilin, Shao, Yuyan, Gao, Fei, Xiao, Jie, & Liu, Jun. Molecular-Confinement of Polysulfide within Mesoscale Electrodes for the Practical Application of Lithium Sulfur Batteries. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2015.01.031
Chen, Junzheng, Wu, Dangxin, Walter, Eric D., Engelhard, Mark H., Bhattacharya, Priyanka, Pan, Huilin, Shao, Yuyan, Gao, Fei, Xiao, Jie, and Liu, Jun. 2015. "Molecular-Confinement of Polysulfide within Mesoscale Electrodes for the Practical Application of Lithium Sulfur Batteries". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2015.01.031.
@article{osti_1184906,
title = {Molecular-Confinement of Polysulfide within Mesoscale Electrodes for the Practical Application of Lithium Sulfur Batteries},
author = {Chen, Junzheng and Wu, Dangxin and Walter, Eric D. and Engelhard, Mark H. and Bhattacharya, Priyanka and Pan, Huilin and Shao, Yuyan and Gao, Fei and Xiao, Jie and Liu, Jun},
abstractNote = {Nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPC) and multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) have been frequently studied to immobilize sulfur in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, neither NPC nor MWCNT itself can effectively confine the soluble polysufides if cathode thickness e.g. sulfur loading is increased. In this work, NPC was combined with MWCNT to construct an integrated host structure to immobilize sulfur at a relevant scale. The function of doped nitrogen atoms was revisited and found to effectively attract sulfur radicals generated during the electrochemical process. The addition of MWCNT facilitated the uniform coating of sulfur nanocomposites to a practically usable thickness and homogenized the distribution of sulfur particles in the pristine electrodes, while NPC provided sufficient pore volume to trap dissolved species. More importantly, the wetting issue, the critical challenge for thick sulfur cathodes, is also mitigated after the adoption of MWCNT, leading to a high areal capacity of ca. 2.5 mAh/cm2 with capacity retention of 81.6% over 100 cycles},
doi = {10.1016/j.nanoen.2015.01.031},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1184906}, journal = {Nano Energy, 13:267-274},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}