Enhanced Charge‐ Discharge Behaviour of MnFe₂O₄ laden Composite Cathode for Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

The LiÀ S battery commercialization has been hampered owing to challenging problems such as poor conductivity of elemental sulfur, volume change upon cycling, and shuttling of lithium polysulfide between the electrodes. To conquer these issues, a sensible electrode structure design is crucial. The incorporation of carbonaceous materials and metal oxides has been identified as an effective tool to foster the electrochemical properties of LiÀ S batteries. In this work, to confine polysulfide shuttling and to improve the conductivity of sulfur, MnFe 2 O 4 -seated rGOsulfur composite was prepared and used as a cathode. The lithium-sulfur cell with MnFe 2 O 4 -seated rGO-sulfur composite cathode showed outstanding electrochemical performance delivering a discharge capacity of 1300 mAh g À 1 at 0.1 C-rate on its first cycle and a stable cycling was attained at 0.5 C-rate. In the composite cathode, each component functions for a specific reason: the rGO in the composite improves the conductivity of sulfur, while added-MnFe 2 O 4 not only confines polysulfides appreciably but also provides integrity to the cathode as evidenced by SEM analysis. The self-discharge studies showed that the LiÀ S cell with MnFe 2 O 4 was capable of retaining its charge even after 90 h which has overhead the earlier reports. The LiÀ S system with MnFe 2 O 4 -laden cathode material exhibited better electrochemical properties than the un-laden one.