Microporous Carbon Nanoparticles for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

Rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are emerging as some of the most promising next-generation battery alternatives to state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high gravimetric energy density, being inexpensive, and having an abundance of elemental sulfur (S8). However, one main, well-known drawback of LSBs is the so-called polysulfide shuttling, where the polysulfide dissolves into organic electrolytes from sulfur host materials. Numerous studies have shown the ability of porous carbon as a sulfur host material. Porous carbon can significantly impede polysulfide shuttling and mitigate the insulating passivation layers, such as Li2S, owing to its intrinsic high electrical conductivity. This work suggests a scalable and straightforward one-step synthesis method to prepare a unique interconnected microporous and mesoporous carbon framework via salt templating with a eutectic mixture of LiI and KI at 800 °C in an inert atmosphere. The synthesis step used environmentally friendly water as a washing solvent to remove salt from the carbon–salt mixture. When employed as a sulfur host material, the electrode exhibited an excellent capacity of 780 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1 and a sulfur loading mass of 2 mg cm−2 with a minor capacity loss of 0.36% per cycle for 100 cycles. This synthesis method of a unique porous carbon structure could provide a new avenue for the development of an electrode with a high retention capacity and high accommodated sulfur for electrochemical energy storage applications.

Multifunctional Plasmon-Tunable Au Nanostars and Their Applications in Highly Efficient Photothermal Inactivation and Ultra-Sensitive SERS Detection

“…The one-step synthesis method and electron beam lithography have inherent shortcomings compared with the seed-mediated growth method. For example, the one-step synthesis method has a simple preparation process; however, the competitive relationship between nucleation and seed growth may lead to the diversity of internal structures and the inhomogeneity of crystal size and shape [ 38 , 39 ]. Although electron beam lithography can precisely control the size and shape of particles, it is difficult to achieve practical applications due to its high cost and complex process [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”

Sustainable Synthesis of Sulfur-Single Walled Carbon Nanohorns Composite for Long Cycle Life Lithium-Sulfur Battery

“…[23][24][25][26][27] These carbonaceous matrixes are capable of not only increasing the active material conductivity and reducing the detrimental effect related to the sulfur volumetric expansion, but they are also able to confine or retain the polysulfides species thus leading to an improved cycling stability. [28][29][30] Furthermore, the associated synthesis of the composite active material typically involves solvothermal or melting processes for whom only one production step is needed. [31,32] With the aim of reducing the production costs and the synthesis steps, in this work we investigate the use of single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) as possible sulfur host material through the implementation of a straightforward and sustainable evaporation method.…”

Understanding the role of lithium bonds in doped graphene nanoribbons as cathode hosts for Li‐S batteries: A first‐principles study

“…3,8 Recent studies have evidenced that many carbonbased structures including graphene, [9][10][11][12] graphene oxide, 13 carbon nanotubes, 14 carbon fibers, 15 hollow Sinthika S. and Pushpa Selvi M. contributed equally to this work. carbon spheres, 16 and microporous carbon 17 have immense potential as cathode hosts for lithium-sulfur batteries. The inert nature of pristine graphene toward adsorbing LiPS; however, necessitates the incorporation of dopants like boron, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and phosphorus in its lattice to enhance its anchoring capabilities.…”