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Solid-state Graft Copolymer Electrolytes for Lithium Battery Applications
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Pomegranate-Structured Silica/Sulfur Composite Cathodes for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
Sinho Choi1, Dawei Su1, Myoungsoo Shin2
1Centre for Clean Energy Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia.
Chemistry, an Asian Journal
|January 16, 2018
Summary
Porous silica materials with a pomegranate structure enhance lithium-sulfur batteries by buffering volume changes and suppressing polysulfide shuttle. Modified cathodes show remarkable capacity retention and stability over 300 cycles.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Energy Storage
Background:
- Porous materials offer structural benefits for energy storage devices.
- Porous silica with pomegranate architecture can host sulfur in lithium-sulfur batteries, mitigating volume changes and polysulfide shuttling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the performance of porous silica/sulfur composite cathodes in lithium-sulfur batteries.
- To explore the effect of a deep-lithiation process on the cathode's electrochemical properties.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of porous silica/sulfur composite cathodes.
- Electrochemical performance testing, including specific capacity and cyclability.
- Ex-situ analysis to study polysulfide adsorption and material modification.
Main Results:
- The composite cathodes demonstrated high specific capacity (1450 mAh/g) and good cycling stability.
- Porous silica showed high polysulfide adsorption, correlating with surface area.
- Deep-lithiation treatment resulted in lithiated-silica frames and stable SEI layers, enhancing reversible capacity to 94.5% after 300 cycles at 1C.
Conclusions:
- Porous silica is an effective host material for lithium-sulfur batteries, improving electrochemical performance.
- The deep-lithiation process significantly enhances the stability and reversibility of the porous silica/sulfur composite cathode.
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