Hierarchical Free-Standing Carbon-Nanotube Paper Electrodes with Ultrahigh Sulfur-Loading for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

The rational combination of conductive nanocarbon with sulfur leads to the formation of composite cathodes that can take full advantage of each building block; this is an effective way to construct cathode materials for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries with high energy density. Generally, the areal s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced functional materials 2014-10, Vol.24 (39), p.6105-6112
Main Authors: Yuan, Zhe, Peng, Hong-Jie, Huang, Jia-Qi, Liu, Xin-Yan, Wang, Dai-Wei, Cheng, Xin-Bing, Zhang, Qiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accommodation
batteries
carbon nanotubes
Cathodes
composite materials
Electrically conductive
Electrodes
Energy density
flexible electronics
lithium
Networks
Sulfur
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Summary:The rational combination of conductive nanocarbon with sulfur leads to the formation of composite cathodes that can take full advantage of each building block; this is an effective way to construct cathode materials for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries with high energy density. Generally, the areal sulfur‐loading amount is less than 2.0 mg cm−2, resulting in a low areal capacity far below the acceptable value for practical applications. In this contribution, a hierarchical free‐standing carbon nanotube (CNT)‐S paper electrode with an ultrahigh sulfur‐loading of 6.3 mg cm−2 is fabricated using a facile bottom–up strategy. In the CNT–S paper electrode, short multi‐walled CNTs are employed as the short‐range electrical conductive framework for sulfur accommodation, while the super‐long CNTs serve as both the long‐range conductive network and the intercrossed mechanical scaffold. An initial discharge capacity of 6.2 mA·h cm−2 (995 mA·h g−1), a 60% utilization of sulfur, and a slow cyclic fading rate of 0.20%/cycle within the initial 150 cycles at a low current density of 0.05 C are achieved. The areal capacity can be further increased to 15.1 mA·h cm−2 by stacking three CNT–S paper electrodes—resulting in an areal sulfur‐loading of 17.3 mg cm−2—for the cathode of a Li–S cell. The as‐obtained free‐standing paper electrode are of low cost and provide high energy density, making them promising for flexible electronic devices based on Li–S batteries. A hierarchical free‐standing paper electrode is fabricated using short multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and super‐long CNTs. The MWCNTs function as a short‐range electrical conductive framework for sulfur accommodation, while super‐long CNTs act as both a long‐range conductive network and mechanical scaffold.
ISSN:1616-301X
1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.201401501