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Robust, Ultra‐Tough Flexible Cathodes for High‐Energy Li–S Batteries
Author(s) -
Chung ShengHeng,
Chang ChiHao,
Manthiram Arumugam
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201503167
Subject(s) - polysulfide , cathode , anode , buckypaper , materials science , sulfur , electrochemistry , battery (electricity) , chemical engineering , electrode , energy storage , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , carbon nanotube , electrolyte , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Sulfur cathodes have become appealing for rechargeable batteries because of their high theoretical capacity (1675 mA h g −1 ). However, the conventional cathode configuration borrowed from lithium‐ion batteries may not allow the pure sulfur cathode to put its unique materials chemistry to good use. The solid (sulfur) –liquid (polysulfides) –solid (sulfides) phase transitions generate polysulfide intermediates that are soluble in the commonly used organic solvents in Li–S cells. The resulting severe polysulfide diffusion and the irreversible active‐material loss have been hampering the development of Li–S batteries for years. The present study presents a robust, ultra‐tough, flexible cathode with the active‐material fillings encapsulated between two buckypapers (B), designated as buckypaper/sulfur/buckypaper (B/S/B) cathodes, that suppresses the irreversible polysulfide diffusion to the anode and offers excellent electrochemical reversibility with a low capacity fade rate of 0.06% per cycle after 400 cycles. Engineering enhancements demonstrate that the B/S/B cathodes represent a facile approach for the development of high‐performance sulfur electrodes with a high areal capacity of 5.1 mA h cm −2 , which increases further to approach 7 mA h cm −2 on coupling with carbon‐coated separators.

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