The main obstacles that hinder the development of efficient lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries are the polysulfide shuttling effect in sulfur cathode and the uncontrollable growth of dendritic Li in the anode. An all-purpose flexible electrode that can be used both in sulfur cathode and Li metal anode is reported, and its application in wearable and portable storage electronic devices is demonstrated. The flexible electrode consists of a bimetallic CoNi nanoparticle-embedded porous conductive scaffold with multiple Co/Ni-N active sites (CoNi@PNCFs). Both experimental and theoretical analysis show that, when used as the cathode, the CoNi and Co/Ni-N active sites implanted on the porous CoNi@PNCFs significantly promote chemical immobilization toward soluble lithium polysulfides and their rapid conversion into insoluble Li 2 S, and therefore effectively mitigates the polysulfide shuttling effect. Additionally, a 3D matrix constructed with porous carbonous skeleton and multiple active centers successfully induces homogenous Li growth, realizing a dendrite-free Li metal anode. A Li-S battery assembled with S/CoNi@PNCFs cathode and Li/CoNi@PNCFs anode exhibits a high reversible specific capacity of 785 mAh g −1 and long cycle performance at 5 C (capacity fading rate of 0.016% over 1500 cycles).
In article number 2000613, Yongguang Zhang, Guihua Liu, Chunyong Liang, and co‐workers develop an all‐purpose flexible electrode, which can serve as part of both a sulfur cathode and a Li metal anode in Li‐S batteries. The 3D conductive electrode mitigates the shuttling effect and guides uniform Li deposition, achieving an outstanding full cell performance. This all‐purpose flexible electrode design strategy shows promise in wearable and portable storage systems.
In the present study, a novel sulfur/lithium-ion full battery was assembled while using ternary sulfur/polyacrylonitrile/SiO2 (S/PAN/SiO2) composite as the cathode and prelithiated graphite as the anode. For anode, Stabilized Lithium Metal Powder (SLMP) was successfully transformed into lithiated graphite anode. For cathode, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that SiO2 was uniformly distributed on S/PAN composites, where SiO2 served as an effective additive due to its ultra high absorb ability and enhanced ability in trapping soluble polysulfide. The tested half-cell based on S/PAN/SiO2 composite revealed high discharge capacity of 1106 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 C. The full cell based on prelithiated graphite//S/PAN/SiO2 composite system delivered a specific capacity of 810 mAh g−1 over 100 cycles.
The aqueous sodium-ion battery (ASIB) is one of the promising new energy storage systems owing to the abundant resources of sodium as well as efficiency and safety of electrolyte. Herein, we report an ASIB system with Na4Mn9O18/carbon nanotube (NMO/CNT) as cathode, metal Zn as anode and a novel Na+/Zn2+ mixed ion as electrolyte. The NMO/CNT with microspherical structure is prepared by a simple spray-drying method. The prepared battery delivers a high reversible specific capacity and stable cyclability. Furthermore, the battery displays a stable reversible discharge capacity of 53.2 mAh g−1 even at a high current rate of 4 C after 150 cycles. Our results confirm that the NMO/CNT composite is a promising electrode cathode material for ASIBs.
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