Hierarchically Structured Sulfur/Carbon Nanocomposite Material for High Energy Lithium Battery
- ORNL
We report herein a hierarchically structured sulfur-carbon (S/C) nanocomposite material as the high surface-area cathode for rechargeable lithium batteries. A porous carbon with a uniform distribution of mesopores of 7.3 nm has been synthesized through a soft-template synthesis method. The potassium hydroxide activation of this mesoporous carbon results in a bimodal porous carbon with added microporosity of less than 2 nm to the existing mesopores without deterioration of the integrity of the original mesoporous carbon. Elemental sulfur has been loaded to the micropores through a solution infiltration method. The resulted S/C composites with various loading level of sulfur have a high surface areas and large internal porosities. These materials have been tested as novel cathodes for Li/S batteries. The results show that the cyclability and the utilization of sulfur in the Li/S batteries have been significantly improved. The large internal porosity and surface area of the micro-mesoporous carbon is essential for retaining sulfur in the cathode and therefore maximizing the capacity and lifespan of the cathode.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 963702
- Journal Information:
- Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 21, Issue 19; ISSN 0897-4756
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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