Effect of Polyaniline on Sulfur/Sepiolite Composite Cathode for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

Composite materials with a stable network structure consisting of natural sepiolite (Sp) powders (both sieved sepiolite and post-treated sepiolite), sulfur(S), and conductive polymer Polyaniline (PAni) have been successfully synthesized using a simple heat treatment. The morphology of composites illustrates that the sepiolite is composed of many needle-like fibrous clusters. The initial discharge capacity of the post-treated sepiolite/sulfur/PAni composite is about 1230 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C, and it remains at 826 mA h g−1 even after 40 cycles with the corresponding coulombic efficiency above 97%. Such performance is attributed to the specific porous structure, outstanding adsorption characteristics, and excellent ion exchange capability of sepiolite, as well as the excellent conductivity of PAni. In addition, the PAni coating has a pinning effect on sulfur, which influences the consumption of the active mass and enhances the cycling constancy and the coulombic efficiency of the composite material at elevated current rates.

Intrinsically conducting polymers and their combinations with redox-active molecules for rechargeable battery electrodes: an update

“…Channels established by PPy in a sulfur-rich triazine framework contributed to 86.8% capacity retention after 500 cycles of this positive electrode material (Kim et al 2020). Further concepts employing ICPs as encapsulating or restraining material to keep sulfur in place and restrict polysulfide movement have been reported (Ahn et al 2020;Chelladurai et al 2020;Díez et al 2020; Growing interest in using selenium instead of sulfur and combining this positive electrode material with other negative ones has resulted in similar considerations for, e.g., a sodium-selenium battery see (Zhang et al 2019c).…”

Assessing the effect of calcination on adsorption capability of Mg/Al layer double hydroxides (LDHs)

“…The surface Al 2p, meanwhile the after-adsorption sample also shows the peak of N 1s, S 2s, and S 2p. The presence of N and S peaks are associated with the sulphonate and -N=Nfunctional group in MO structure [44,45]. XPS spectrum presented in figure 15(b) shows the peak at 73.7 eV, which is attributed to Al 2p, and figure 14(c) represents the peak at 50.3 eV associated with Mg 2p.…”

Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries: Current Progress and Future Prospects

“…The performance parameters of polymer host materials for Li-S batteries are summarized in Table 3 [129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138]. In general, polymers can be regarded as conductive network host material for capturing soluble polysulfide intermediates.…”

“…Summary of performance parameters for polymer host materials used in Li-S batteries. [129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138] Host materials Specific surface area [m 2 g À 1 ]…”