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A Rechargeable Al/S Battery with an Ionic‐Liquid Electrolyte
Author(s) -
Gao Tao,
Li Xiaogang,
Wang Xiwen,
Hu Junkai,
Han Fudong,
Fan Xiulin,
Suo Liumin,
Pearse Alex J,
Lee Sang Bok,
Rubloff Gary W.,
Gaskell Karen J,
Noked Malachi,
Wang Chunsheng
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201603531
Subject(s) - electrolyte , battery (electricity) , oxidizing agent , electrochemistry , sulfur , anode , chemical engineering , cathode , lithium–sulfur battery , materials science , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , electrode , metallurgy , organic chemistry , thermodynamics , power (physics) , physics , engineering
Abstract Aluminum metal is a promising anode material for next generation rechargeable batteries owing to its abundance, potentially dendrite‐free deposition, and high capacity. The rechargeable aluminum/sulfur (Al/S) battery is of great interest owing to its high energy density (1340 Wh kg −1 ) and low cost. However, Al/S chemistry suffers poor reversibility owing to the difficulty of oxidizing AlS x . Herein, we demonstrate the first reversible Al/S battery in ionic‐liquid electrolyte with an activated carbon cloth/sulfur composite cathode. Electrochemical, spectroscopic, and microscopic results suggest that sulfur undergoes a solid‐state conversion reaction in the electrolyte. Kinetics analysis identifies that the slow solid‐state sulfur conversion reaction causes large voltage hysteresis and limits the energy efficiency of the system.