Lithium−sulfur batteries with high-energy density are witnessed to be the most prospective next-generation advanced batteries. Nonetheless, the existing issues of the serious shuttle effect and insulating property restrict their further applications. Herein, a honeycomb-like porous carbon derived from cotton is designed and prepared as a sulfur host to overcome the abovementioned problems. The cotton carbon carbonized at 700 °C acquires plentiful mesopores/macropores and displays a high surface area (458.85 m 2 g −1 ). The C/S composite shows a relatively high capacity of 1271 mAh g −1 for the first cycle at 100 mA g −1 .The carbon treated at 600 °C possesses abundant carbon−oxygen groups, which is beneficial for chemical adsorption of soluble polysulfides. The high-sulfur-loading (74 wt %) C/S electrode exhibits long-span cycling stability over 200 cycles. Benefiting from the excellent conductivity of cross-linked carbon fibers and the unique porous structure for trapping sulfur as well as the polysulfides, the cotton C/S composites exhibit superior properties for advanced lithium−sulfur batteries.
In order to improve the rate performance and reduce the cost lithium ion anode, the Li4Ti5O12@TiO2 (LTO‐TO) was prepared by a facile hydrothermal reaction method with a micro‐scale TiO2 as the precursor. The morphologies and microstructures of the pomegranate‐like LTO‐TO were examined by scanning electron microscopy and transition electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that the nano‐LTO particles are located on the surface of the micro TiO2. The electrochemical properties of the LTO‐TO composites were characterized by galvanostatic charge/discharge. The as‐prepared composites present a high capacity of 157.3 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C. Even at a high current density of 10 C, it can still maintain a high capacity of 105.4 mAh g−1 and remains 92.8% (95 mA g−1) after 450 cycles. These results indicate that the as‐prepared LTO nano/micro‐sphere may be a potential anode material for lithium‐ion batteries.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.