Wet Chemistry Synthesis of Multidimensional Nanocarbon-Sulfur Hybrid Materials with Ultrahigh Sulfur Loading for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

An optimized nanocarbon-sulfur cathode material with ultrahigh sulfur loading of up to 90 wt % is realized in the form of sulfur nanolayer-coated three-dimensional (3D) conducting network. This 3D nanocarbon-sulfur network combines three different nanocarbons, as follows: zero-dimensional carbon nanoparticle, one-dimensional carbon nanotube, and two-dimensional graphene. This 3D nanocarbon-sulfur network is synthesized by using a method based on soluble chemistry of elemental sulfur and three types of nanocarbons in well-chosen solvents. The resultant sulfur-carbon material shows a high specific capacity of 1115 mA h g(-1) at 0.02C and good rate performance of 551 mA h g(-1) at 1C based on the mass of sulfur-carbon composite. Good battery performance can be attributed to the homogeneous compositing of sulfur with the 3D hierarchical hybrid nanocarbon networks at nanometer scale, which provides efficient multidimensional transport pathways for electrons and ions. Wet chemical method developed here provides an easy and cost-effective way to prepare sulfur-carbon cathode materials with high sulfur loading for application in high-energy Li-S batteries.

[1]  Ya‐Xia Yin,et al.  Effect of cations in ionic liquids on the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur batteries , 2014, Science China Chemistry.

[2]  Yuegang Zhang,et al.  Polyaniline-modified cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-graphene oxide-sulfur nanocomposites with enhanced performance for lithium-sulfur batteries , 2014, Nano Research.

[3]  Arumugam Manthiram,et al.  Rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2014, Chemical reviews.

[4]  K. Jiang,et al.  Sulfur nanocrystals confined in carbon nanotube network as a binder-free electrode for high-performance lithium sulfur batteries. , 2014, Nano letters.

[5]  L. Nazar,et al.  Stable cycling of a scalable graphene-encapsulated nanocomposite for lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2014, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[6]  Chunpeng Yang,et al.  Insight into the effect of boron doping on sulfur/carbon cathode in lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2014, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[7]  Yunhui Huang,et al.  High sulfur loading composite wrapped by 3D nitrogen-doped graphene as a cathode material for lithium–sulfur batteries , 2014 .

[8]  Hong‐Jie Peng,et al.  Aligned carbon nanotube/sulfur composite cathodes with high sulfur content for lithium–sulfur batteries , 2014 .

[9]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  Lithium-sulfur batteries: electrochemistry, materials, and prospects. , 2013, Angewandte Chemie.

[10]  Xiaogang Han,et al.  Reactivation of dissolved polysulfides in Li–S batteries based on atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 in nanoporous carbon cloth , 2013 .

[11]  Shuru Chen,et al.  Mesoporous carbon-carbon nanotube-sulfur composite microspheres for high-areal-capacity lithium-sulfur battery cathodes. , 2013, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[12]  Ling Huang,et al.  Porous graphitic carbon loading ultra high sulfur as high-performance cathode of rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2013, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[13]  Guangmin Zhou,et al.  Fibrous hybrid of graphene and sulfur nanocrystals for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2013, ACS nano.

[14]  Xiaoqing Jiang,et al.  Organic salt-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite to produce high-quality graphene , 2013 .

[15]  Qiang Sun,et al.  High sulfur loading cathodes fabricated using peapodlike, large pore volume mesoporous carbon for lithium-sulfur battery. , 2013, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[16]  L. Qi,et al.  Bioinspired colloidal materials with special optical, mechanical, and cell-mimetic functions. , 2013, Journal of materials chemistry. B.

[17]  A. Manthiram,et al.  Sulfur-carbon nanocomposite cathodes improved by an amphiphilic block copolymer for high-rate lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2012, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[18]  X. Lou,et al.  Confining sulfur in double-shelled hollow carbon spheres for lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2012, Angewandte Chemie.

[19]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  Nanocarbon networks for advanced rechargeable lithium batteries. , 2012, Accounts of chemical research.

[20]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  Efficient 3D conducting networks built by graphene sheets and carbon nanoparticles for high-performance silicon anode. , 2012, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[21]  Jean-Marie Tarascon,et al.  Li-O2 and Li-S batteries with high energy storage. , 2011, Nature materials.

[22]  Wei Xu,et al.  Graphene oxide nanosheets/multi-walled carbon nanotubes hybrid as an excellent electrocatalytic material towards VO2+/VO2+ redox couples for vanadium redox flow batteries , 2011 .

[23]  Yi Cui,et al.  Hollow carbon nanofiber-encapsulated sulfur cathodes for high specific capacity rechargeable lithium batteries. , 2011, Nano letters.

[24]  Xiulei Ji,et al.  Stabilizing lithium-sulphur cathodes using polysulphide reservoirs. , 2011, Nature Communications.

[25]  J. Coleman,et al.  High-concentration solvent exfoliation of graphene. , 2010, Small.

[26]  J. Coleman.  Liquid‐Phase Exfoliation of Nanotubes and Graphene , 2009 .

[27]  C. Liang,et al.  Hierarchically Structured Sulfur/Carbon Nanocomposite Material for High-Energy Lithium Battery , 2009 .

[28]  Doron Aurbach,et al.  On the Surface Chemical Aspects of Very High Energy Density, Rechargeable Li–Sulfur Batteries , 2009 .

[29]  L. Nazar,et al.  A highly ordered nanostructured carbon-sulphur cathode for lithium-sulphur batteries. , 2009, Nature materials.

[30]  Zhen Zhou,et al.  Synthesis and Electrochemical Performance of Sulfur/Highly Porous Carbon Composites , 2009 .

[31]  Jou-Hyeon Ahn,et al.  Effects of carbon coating on the electrochemical properties of sulfur cathode for lithium/sulfur cell , 2008 .

[32]  E. Yoo,et al.  Large reversible Li storage of graphene nanosheet families for use in rechargeable lithium ion batteries. , 2008, Nano letters.

[33]  J. Shim,et al.  The Lithium/Sulfur Rechargeable Cell Effects of Electrode Composition and Solvent on Cell Performance , 2002 .