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Toward Sustainable Li-S Battery Using Scalable Cathode and Safe Glyme-Based Electrolyte.
Vittorio Marangon1,2, Edoardo Barcaro2, Eugenio Scaduti2
1Graphene Laboratories, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, Genoa 16163, Italy.
ACS Applied Energy Materials
|December 1, 2023
Summary
Safe lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries utilize nonflammable glyme-based electrolytes with 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) for enhanced stability and performance. Varying DOL content impacts Li+ ion movement, stability, and resistance, influencing overall battery cycle life and capacity.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Energy Storage
Background:
- Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries offer high theoretical energy density but face challenges with electrolyte safety and stability.
- Glyme-based solvents are investigated as safer alternatives to conventional volatile organic electrolytes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate nonflammable tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (glyme) electrolytes with varying 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) content for sustainable Li-S batteries.
- To characterize the electrochemical properties and performance of these novel electrolytes in Li-S cells.
Main Methods:
- Electrolyte characterization including flammability, thermal stability, ionic conductivity, Li+ transference number, and electrochemical stability window.
- Li-S cell fabrication using a sulfur/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite cathode and optimized current collector.
- Electrochemical performance testing, including cycling stability, capacity retention, and influence of DOL concentration.
Main Results:
- The glyme-DOL electrolytes exhibit low flammability, high thermal stability (~200 °C), good ionic conductivity (>10^-3 S cm^-1), and a wide electrochemical stability window (0-4.4 V).
- Increasing DOL content (5-15 wt%) affects Li+ motion, transference number, anodic stability, and Li/electrolyte resistance.
- Li-S cells with optimized cathodes and glyme-DOL electrolytes demonstrate over 200 cycles with high sulfur loading (5.2 mg cm^-2) and low E/S ratio (6 μL mg^-1), with performance modulated by DOL concentration.
Conclusions:
- Nonflammable glyme-DOL electrolytes are promising for safe and sustainable Li-S batteries.
- Electrolyte composition, particularly DOL content, significantly influences Li-S battery performance, including cycle life and delivered capacity.
- Further optimization of electrolyte formulation and cell design can enhance the practical application of Li-S battery technology.
