Sulfur gradient-distributed CNF composite: a self-inhibiting cathode for binder-free lithium–sulfur batteries

Fu, Kun; Li, Yanpeng; Dirican, Mahmut; Chen, Chen; Lü, Yao; Zhu, Jiadeng; Li, Yao; Cao, Linyou; Bradford, Philip D.; Zhang, Xiangwu

doi:10.1039/c4cc04970e

Cited by 76 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…As listed in Table 4 , Q areal values in the 5-15 mAh cm −2 range have been achieved, [33][34][35][36]41 ] signifi cantly exceed traditional approaches which have so far been limited to Q areal ≈ 4-6 mAh cm −2 . [ 32,39,40 ] However, despite a nearly three-fold increase in Q areal , our estimations, shown in Figure 8 , indicate that there is no signifi cant increase in the projected E .…”

Section: Cathodes Embedded In 3d Current Collectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Design of Cathodes for Li‐S Batteries

Pope

Aksay

2015

Advanced Energy Materials

423

330

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Optimized Li-ion batteries can now achieve specifi c energies ( E ) up to ≈200 Wh kg −1 but only marginal improvements to this technology are expected in the near future as cells reach their theoretical limits. [ 3,5,6 ] While signifi cant progress has been made, [ 7 ] continued improvements to drive range, decreased charging times and more effi cient operation at high power are required to effectively accept energy generated during braking [ 8 ] and to make charging times more convenient for consumers who are used to spending only a few minutes fi lling their tanks with gas as opposed to overnight charging required by current battery systems.Cost is also a factor. Most Li-ion batteries are too expensive to be economical for grid level storage and also make the price of electric vehicles prohibitively expensive for the average consumer. A state-of-the-art Li-ion battery pack costs ≈$400 per kWh, [ 7 ] a fi gure which needs to be reduced to ≈$150 per kWh as suggested by the US Advanced Battery Consortium. [ 8 ] In a recent review, Larcher and Tarascon also pointed out the importance of the sustainability of materials and processes used to make these batteries. [ 5 ] In order to reduce the energy and fossil fuel consumption associated with materials extraction and battery manufacturing we must look towards abundant, accessible, recyclable materials and low temperature production processes. [ 5 ] Advantages of Li-S BatteriesLithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are regarded as one of the most promising systems as they hold the potential to address most of the challenges discussed above. Sulfur is abundant and inexpensive, currently produced in large quantities, as a waste product of the oil and gas industry and is also naturally occurring, being the 16 th most abundant element in the Earth's lithosphere. [ 9 ] Sulfur's low melting point (115.2 °C) and sublimation temperature lead to potentially more energy effi cient manufacturing approaches. Most importantly, the electrochemical reduction of sulfur: S + 2Li + → Li 2 S + 2e − , yields a theoretical capacity of 1672 mAh g −1 sulfur which is an order of magnitude larger than state-of-the-art Li-ion cathode materials such as LiCoO 2 , LiFePO 4 , and NCA which exhibit theoretical capacities of 140-180 mAh g −1 . [ 1,3,5 ] This high cathode capacity ( Q C ) arises through a combination of sulfur's low molecular weight ( M W = 32.06) and the net two-electrons ( n = 2) generated through the Battery technologies involving Li-S chemistries have been touted as one of the most promising next generation systems. The theoretical capacity of sulfur is nearly an order of magnitude higher than current Li-ion battery insertion cathodes and when coupled with a Li metal anode, Li-S batteries promise specifi c energies nearly fi ve-fold higher. However, this assertion only holds if sulfur cathodes could be designed in the same manner as cathodes for Li-ion batteries. Here, the recent efforts to engineer high capacity, thick, sulfur-based cathodes are explored. Various works are compared in ...

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Section: Cathodes Embedded In 3d Current Collectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Design of Cathodes for Li‐S Batteries

Pope

Aksay

2015

Advanced Energy Materials

423

330

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“…In addition, the carbon nanofibers improve the mechanical/ structural integrity of the composite electrode as well as the conductivity, [232,233,238] that further enhances electrons/ Li + transfer and improves sulfur utilization in Li-S batteries [123,153,[224][225][226][227][228][229][230][231][232][233][234][235][236][237][238][239][240] and by extension, improves the batteries electrochemical performance. The challenge however, on the use of these carbon nanofiber-sulfur-based cathodes in Li-S batteries is the inconsistency of the fiber surface area, particularly those produced by electrospinning [225,226,241,242]. A relatively small surface area and a large pore volume size can lead to sulfur being exposed outside the porous structure, which can cause serious polysulfide dissolutions at prolonged battery cycling.…”

Section: Composite Nanofibers For Li/s Battery Cathodementioning

confidence: 99%

Composite Nanofibers as Advanced Materials for Li-ion, Li-O2 and Li-S Batteries

Agubra

Zúñiga

Flores

et al. 2016

Electrochimica Acta

113

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The quest to increase the energy density and improve the cycle life performance of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and beyond has led to the development of various suitable and alternative materials for energy storage and conversion. The morphology and electrode architecture in advanced battery materials have been re-designed into nanofibers and composite nanofibers. Nanofiber-based separators and electrodes have been demonstrated to improve the energy density and cycling performance of LIBs. The improvement in the structure and morphology of nanofibers in Lithium ion batteries such as LiSi and LiSn, have once again ignited the interest in these Li:M alloys anode as an alternative anode and cathode materials. The major challenges that confront this new frontier has been the seemingly lack of scalable method among the various techniques and design nanofibers with good structure and morphology that could prevent dendrite penetrations. However, there seem to be a solution in sight with the advent of mass production techniques of nanofibers by electrospinning and centrifugal spinning (i.e. Forcespinning®) that have recently been developed. In this paper, the use of nanofibers and composite nanofibers as electrode and separator materials for lithium ion, Li-O2 and Li sulfur batteries is reviewed. The discussion focuses on the performance characteristics of these nanostructured electrode and separator materials and methods used to improve their performances.

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“…The main approaches are performing nanomaterials as conductive frameworks for sulfur cathodes to achieve high capacity and improve cycle life, including porous hollow carbon [19,20], carbon nanofiber [21,22], carbon nanotubes [23], graphene oxide [24], graphene [25], yolk-shell TiO 2 spheres [26], conductive polymers [27], etc. The active material utilization and cyclability are improved because these conductive frameworks are able to enhance the electrical conductivity of the cathode and minimize the loss of soluble polysulfide intermediates during the cycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%