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Title: Tubular titanium oxide/reduced graphene oxide-sulfur composite for improved performance of lithium sulfur batteries

Journal Article · · Carbon
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States). School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering; Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States
  3. Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States). School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries are promising alternatives to conventional Li-ion batteries in terms of specific capacity and energy. However, the technical challenges raised from the soluble polysulfide (PS) in organic electrolyte deter their implementation in practical applications. Nanoengineered structure and chemical adsorptive materials hold great promise in mitigating the PS migration problem. Here, we develop a tubular titanium oxide (TiO2)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite structure (TG) as a sulfur hosting material for constructing better performed Li-S batteries. The TG/sulfur cathode (TG/S) is able to deliver ~1200 mAh g-1 specific capacity with stable operation for over 550 cycles. Moreover, the TG/S composite cathode shows stable Coulombic efficiencies of over ~95% at various C rates, which are ~10% higher than those of the rGO/sulfur (G/S) counterparts. The superior electrochemical performances of TG/S could be ascribed to the synergistic effects between the conductive rGO support and the physically/chemically absorptive TiO2, that is, the spatial tubular structure of TiO2 provides intimate contact and physical confinement for sulfur, while the polar TiO2 in TG/S shows strong chemical interaction towards the sulfur species.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1413462
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1576052; OSTI ID: 1770996
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-130449; PII: S0008622317311569
Journal Information:
Carbon, Vol. 128, Issue C; ISSN 0008-6223
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 38 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (7)

Advances in Polar Materials for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries journal May 2018
Graphene Oxide Induced Growth of Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanotubes as a 1D/2D Composite for High‐Performance Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries journal January 2019
Fabrication of ultrafine Gd 2 O 3 nanoparticles/carbon aerogel composite as immobilization host for cathode for lithium‐sulfur batteries journal July 2019
Urchin-like NiCo2S4 infused sulfur as cathode for lithium–sulfur battery journal October 2018
Surface chemistry of tube-in-tube nanostructured cuprous sulfide@void@carbon in catalytical polysulfide conversion journal January 2019
Rational design of polar/nonpolar mediators toward efficient sulfur fixation and enhanced conductivity journal January 2020
Hollow NiCo 2 O 4 nanocages as sulfur host for advanced lithium-sulfur batteries journal July 2019