Open AccessEnhanced performance of sulfur-infiltrated bimodal mesoporous carbon foam by chemical solution deposition as cathode materials for lithium sulfur batteries
Author(s) -
Tae-Gyung Jeong,
Jinyoung Chun,
Byung Won Cho,
Jun Young Lee,
YongTae Kim
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep42238
Subject(s) - polysulfide , sulfur , chemical engineering , materials science , dissolution , mesoporous material , cathode , carbon fibers , lithium (medication) , porosity , deposition (geology) , chemistry , composite material , electrode , organic chemistry , metallurgy , electrolyte , catalysis , composite number , medicine , engineering , endocrinology , paleontology , sediment , biology
The porous carbon matrix is widely recognized to be a promising sulfur reservoir to improve the cycle life by suppressing the polysulfide dissolution in lithium sulfur batteries (LSB). Herein, we synthesized mesocellular carbon foam (MSUF-C) with bimodal mesopore (4 and 30 nm) and large pore volume (1.72 cm 2 /g) using MSUF silica as a template and employed it as both the sulfur reservoir and the conductive agent in the sulfur cathode. Sulfur was uniformly infiltrated into MSUF-C pores by a chemical solution deposition method (MSUF-C/S CSD) and the amount of sulfur loading was achieved as high as 73% thanks to the large pore volume with the CSD approach. MSUF-C/S CSD showed a high capacity (889 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 0.2 C), an improved rate capability (879 mAh/g at 1C and 420 mAh/g at 2C), and a good capacity retention with a fade rate of 0.16% per cycle over 100 cycles.