Solution-based Preparation of High Sulfur Content Sulfur/Graphene Cathode Material for Li-S Battery

Practical Li-sulfur batteries require the high sulfur loading cathode to meet the large-capacity power demand of electrical equipment.However,the sulfur content in cathode materials is usually unsatisfactory due to the excessive use of carbon for improving the conductivity.Traditional cathode fabrication strategies can hardly realize both high sulfur content and homogeneous sulfur distribution without aggregation.Herein,we designed a cathode material with ultrahigh sulfur content of 88%(mass fraction)by uniformly distributing the water dispersible sulfur nanoparticles on three-dimensionally conductive graphene framework.The water processable fabrication can maximize the homogeneous contact between sulfur nanoparticles and graphene,improving the utilization of the interconnected conductive surface.The obtained cathode material showed a capacity of 500 mA·h/g after 500 cycles at 2.0 A/g with an areal loading of 2 mg/cm2.This strategy provides possibility for the mass production of high-performance electrode materials for high-capacity Li-S battery.     

Self-crystallized Interlayer Integrating Polysulfide-adsorbed TiO2/TiO and Highly-electron-conductive TiO for High-stability Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Low-cost lithium sulfur(Li-S)batteries afford preeminent prospect as a next-generation high-energy storage device by virtue of great theoretical capacity.Nevertheless,their applications are restricted by some challenging technical barriers,such as weak cycling stability and low poor-conductivity sulfur loading originated in notorious shuttling effect of polysulfide intermediates.Herein,free of any complicated compositing process,we design an interlayer of carbon fiber paper supported TiO2/TiO to impede the shuttle effect and enhance the electrical conductivity via physical isolation and chemical adsorption.Such a self-crystallized homogeneous interlayer,where TiO2/TiO enables absorbing lithium polysulfides(LiPSs)and TiO plays a key role of high-electron-conductivity exhibited ultrahigh capacities(1000 mA·h/g at 0.5 C and 900 mA·h/g at 1 C)and outstanding capacity retention rate(97%)after 100 cycles.Thus,our design provides a simple route to suppress the shuttle effect via self-derived evolution Li-S batteries.     

硫/水热碳球复合材料的制备及对锂硫电池倍率性能的影响(英文)

在锂硫电池正极材料的研究中,碳材料可以有效改善电池倍率及循环性能。为了提高锂硫电池的高倍率放电性能,通过水热合成的方法,制备了由非均匀粒径碳球组成的碳材料。与硫热合成后,硫均匀分布在碳材料表面及周围,复合材料含硫量为52wt%。0.2C放电电流下,首次放电比容量为1 174 m Ah·g-1,100次循环后放电比容量为788 m Ah·g-1。在4C的放电电流下,放电比容量稳定维持在600 m Ah·g-1,循环过程中,库伦效率高于90%。该碳材料有良好的导电网络,且制备方便,成本低廉,对于穿梭效应和放电过程中的膨胀效应有一定的抑制作用,是一种优秀的正极材料。     

硫/水热碳球复合材料的制备及对锂硫电池倍率性能的影响

在锂硫电池正极材料的研究中,碳材料可以有效改善电池倍率及循环性能.为了提高锂硫电池的高倍率放电性能,通过水热合成的方法,制备了由非均匀粒径碳球组成的碳材料.与硫热合成后,硫均匀分布在碳材料表面及周围,复合材料含硫量为52wt%.0.2C放电电流下,首次放电比容量为1174mAh·g^-1,100次循环后放电比容量为788mAh·g^-1.在4C的放电电流下,放电比容量稳定维持在600mAh·g^-1,循环过程中,库伦效率高于90%.该碳材料有良好的导电网络,且制备方便,成本低廉,对于穿梭效应和放电过程中的膨胀效应有一定的抑制作用,是一种优秀的正极材料.     

锂硫电池硫碳复合正极材料研究现状及展望

二次锂硫电池被视为最具有发展潜力的下一代高能量密度二次电池之一. 但由于正极硫的电导率低（5×10^-30 S·cm^-1）,且在放电过程中产生的中间体多硫化物易溶于有机电解液,致使锂硫电池活性物质利用率降低,溶解后的多硫化物还会迁移到负极,被还原成不溶物Li2S2/Li2S而沉积于负极锂,使电极结构遭受破坏,造成电池容量大幅衰减,循环性能差,从而限制了进一步的开发应用. 研究表明,以碳作为导电骨架的硫碳复合正极材料能在不同程度上解决上述问题,从而有效提高了锂硫电池的放电容量和循环性能. 本文综述了近年来国内外报道的各种锂硫电池正极材料的研究进展,结合作者课题组的研究,重点探讨了硫碳复合正极材料,并对其今后的发展趋势进行了展望.     

Utilizing the Alterable Solubility of Chitosan in Aqueous Solution to Synthesize Nanosized Sulfur for High Performance Li–S Batteries

We demonstrate the synthesis of cathode material with nanosized sulfur by a precipitation method making use of the alterable solubility of chitosan (CTS) in aqueous solution. Mesoporous Ketjen Black (KB) and carbon nanotube (CNT) are added as conductive agents to provide the three‐dimensional electric channels. This method can reduce the size of the sulfur particles, thus the nanosized sulfur obtained can fully contact with the conductive agent, which could increase the utilization of sulfur and improve the capacity of Li‐S batteries. Moreover, CTS with abundant hydroxyl and amine groups has strong interaction with polysulfides, which can improve the stability of Li‐S batteries. As a result, the obtained CTS/C‐S cathode containing 76 wt% sulfur delivers an impressively initial discharge specific capacity of 1141.6 mA·h·g^–1 at 0.5 C and maintains a capacity of 842.3 mA·h·g^–1 after 300 cycles. Our finding paves a way for the rational design of high‐performance sulfur cathodes for advanced Li‐S batteries.     

V2O3空心球的制备及在锂硫电池中的应用

在NH₃辅助下将制备的V₂O₅空心球高温还原为V₂O₃空心球, 并利用透射电子显微镜、 扫描电子显微镜、 X射线衍射和X射线光电子能谱等手段对材料的形貌与结构进行表征. 将V₂O₃空心球与硫机械混合后, 不经过熔融复合直接作为锂硫电池的正极材料. 电化学测试结果显示, 在0.2C倍率下, 电池首次放电比容量达到1375 mA·h/g, 循环100次后放电比容量可以维持在815 mA·h/g; 在1C高倍率下, 电池首次放电比容量为710 mA·h/g, 经过500次循环后, 放电比容量仍能达到530 mA·h/g, 表明V₂O₃空心球的加入能够有效提高锂硫电池的循环性能.     

Nitrogen-doped Carbon Coated Na3V2(PO4)3 with Superior Sodium Storage Capability

Cathodes with high cycling stability and rate capability are required for ambient temperature sodium ion batteries in renewable energy storage application. Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ is an attractive cathode material with excellent electrochemical stability and fast ion diffusion coefficient within the 3D NASICON structure. Nevertheless, the practical application of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ is seriously hindered by its intrinsically poor electronic conductivity. Herein, solvent evaporation method is presented to obtain the nitrogen-doped carbon coated Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ cathode material, delivering enhanced electrochemical performances. N-Doped carbon layer coating serves as a highly conducting pathway, and creates numerous extrinsic defects and active sites, which can facilitate the storage and diffusion of Na⁺. Moreover, the N-doped carbon layer can provide a stable framework to accommodate the agglomeration of the electrode upon electrode cycling. N-Doped carbon coated Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃(NC-NVP) exhibits excellent long cycling life and superior rate performances than bare Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ without carbon coating. NC-NVP delivers a stable capacity of 95.9 mA·h/g after 500 cycles at 1 C rate, which corresponds to high capacity retention(94.6%) with respect to the initial capacity(101.4 mA·h/g). Over 91.3% of the initial capacity is retained after 500 cycles at 5 C, and the capacity can reach 85 mA·h/g at 30 C rate.     

以Fe2O3为原料制备LiFePO4/C复合材料及其性能研究

以Fe2O3为铁源原料, 利用热还原法成功地制备了LiFePO4/C复合材料. 用XRD以及SEM对材料的晶体结构以及表面形貌进行了表征. 通过循环伏安和充放电测试研究了材料的电化学性能. 研究结果表明， 于700 ℃下制备的LiFePO4/C复合材料在0.1C的倍率下可以得到放电容量144.8 mA·h/g, 在循环160次后, 容量仍保持在141.4 mA·h/g. 这种以廉价的Fe2O3代替目前常用的二价铁盐原料方法, 具有减少LiFePO4合成成本的优点.     

Improved Initial Charging Capacity of Na-poor Na0.44MnO2 via Chemical Presodiation Strategy for Low-cost Sodium-ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)are promising for grid-scale energy storage applications due to the natural abundance and low cost of sodium.Among various Na insertion cathode materials,Na0.44MnO2 has attracted the most attention because of its cost effectiveness and structural stability.However,the low initial charge capacity for Na-poor Na0.44MnO2 hinders its practical applications.Herein,we developed a facile chemical presodiated method using sodiated biphenly to transform Na-poor Na0.44MnO2 into Na-rich Na0.66MnO2.After presodiation,the initial charge capacity of Na0.44MnO2 is greatly enhanced from 56.5 mA·h/g to 115.7 mA·h/g at 0.1 C(1 C=121 mA/g)and the excellent cycling stability(the capacity retention of 94.1%over 200 cycles at 2 C)is achieved.This presodiation strategy would open a new avenue for promoting the practical applications of Na-poor cathode materials in sodium-ion batteries.     

High performance lithium-sulfur batteries by facilely coating a conductive carbon nanotube or graphene layer

A dual-layer cathode electrode is constituted by facilely coating a conductive carbon nanotube or graphene layer on the pristine sulfur cathode electrode. The conductive layer can effectively improve the conductivity and suppress the polysulfide diffusion, giving rise to an enhanced electrochemical performance for Li-S batteries.     

Dual‐Confined Sulfur Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Hollow TiO2 Spheres Wrapped with Graphene for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium–sulfur (Li?S) batteries are attractive owing to their higher energy density and lower cost compared with the universally used lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), but there are some problems that stop their practical use, such as low utilization and rapid capacity‐fading of the sulfur cathode, which is mainly caused by the shuttle effect, and the uncontrollable deposition of lithium sulfide species. Herein, we report the design and fabrication of dual‐confined sulfur nanoparticles that were encapsulated inside hollow TiO₂ spheres; the encapsulated nanoparticles were prepared by a facile hydrolysis process combined with acid etching, followed by “wrapping” with graphene (G?TiO₂@S). In this unique composite architecture, the hollow TiO₂ spheres acted as effective sulfur carriers by confining the polysulfides and buffering volume changes during the charge‐discharge processes by means of physical force from the hollow spheres and chemical binding between TiO₂ and the polysulfides. Moreover, the graphene‐wrapped skin provided an effective 3D conductive network to improve the electronic conductivity of the sulfur cathode and, at the same time, to further suppress the dissolution of the polysulfides. As results, the G?TiO₂@S hybrids exhibited a high and stable discharge capacity of up to 853.4 mA h g^?1 over 200 cycles at 0.5 C (1 C=1675 mA g^?1) and an excellent rate capability of 675 mA h g^?1 at a current rate of 2 C; thus, G?TiO₂@S holds great promise as a cathode material for Li?S batteries.     

Dual Dopamine Derived Polydopamine Coated N-Doped Porous Carbon Spheres as a Sulfur Host for High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are considered to be one of the most promising energy storage systems owing to their high energy density and low cost. However, their wide application is still limited by the rapid capacity fading. Herein, polydopamine (PDA)-coated N-doped hierarchical porous carbon spheres (NPC@PDA) are reported as sulfur hosts for high-performance Li-S batteries. The NPC core with abundant and interconnected pores provides fast electron/ion transport pathways and strong trapping ability towards lithium polysulfide intermediates. The PDA shell could further suppress the loss of lithium polysulfide intermediates through polar–polar interactions. Benefiting from the dual function design, the NPC/S@PDA composite cathode exhibits an initial capacity of 1331 mAh g⁻¹ and remains at 720 mAh g⁻¹ after 200 cycles at 0.5 C. At the pouch cell level with a high sulfur mass loading, the NPC/S@PDA composite cathode still exhibits a high capacity of 1062 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.4 mA cm⁻².     

百香果皮基原位氮掺杂多孔碳/硫复合正极的制备及储锂性能

以生物质百香果皮为碳源,KHCO3为活化剂,采用同步活化碳化方法制备原位氮掺杂的分级多孔碳材料,将其与单质硫复合制得多孔碳/硫正极材料。通过X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)等表征技术对制备材料的物相组成、微观形貌、比表面积及孔结构进行研究分析。同时,利用紫外可见吸收光谱研究了多孔碳对多硫化物的吸附作用,用恒电流充放电测试了不同硫含量(60%～80%)的多孔碳/硫复合正极材料的电化学性能。结果表明,制得的多孔碳材料为无定型,具有1 093 m²·g^-1的高比表面积和0.63 cm³·g^-1的孔容;丰富的多孔结构和原位氮掺杂对多硫化物的物理化学协同吸附作用,有效降低了锂硫电池的“穿梭效应”,提高了电池的放电比容量和循环性能。硫含量为60%的多孔碳/硫复合材料,在0.05C和0.2C倍率下可释放1 057.7和763.4 mAh·g^-1的高初始放电比容量,在1C的高倍率下循环300次后的保持率为75%。     

Facile Route to Constructing Ternary Nanoalloy Bifunctional Oxyegn Cathode for Metal-Air Batteries

Highly stable and efficient bifunctional air cathode catalyst is crucial to rechargeable metal-air batteries. Herein, a ternary nanoalloy layer composed of noble and base metal coated on a three-dimensional porous Ni sponge as the bifunctional cathode is synthesized through in-situ anchoring strategy, which can effectively keep the multi-metal nanoparticles from agglomeration and improve the density of active sites and catalytic activity. The prepared catalyst displays an excellent catalytic performance with lower overpotential and long-term stability. The Zn-air batteries with the as-prepared cathodes possess a large power density of 170 mW/cm², long cycling stability up to 230 cycles, and a high specific capacity of 771 mA·h/g. Furthermore, the corresponding Li-air batteries deliver a discharge capacity of 22429 mA·h/g. These superior properties of the metal-air batteries can be attributed to the combined influence of design and composition of electrode, which is of great significance to improve the electrochemical catalytic activity, providing great potential of wide application in expanded rechargeable energy systems.     

Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Na0.67Fe0.5Mn0.5O2Cathode with SnO2 Modification

P2-type layered oxide Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ is recognized as a very promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries due to the merits of high capacity, high voltage, low cost, and easy preparation. However, its unsatisfactory cycle and rate performances remain huge obstacles for practical applications. Here, we report a strategy of SnO₂ modification on P2-type Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ to improve the cycle and rate performance. Scanning electron microscope(SEM) and transmission electron microscope(TEM) images indicate that an insular thin layer SnO₂ is coated on the surface of Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ after medication. The coating layer of SnO₂ can protect Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ from corrosion by electrolyte and the cycle performance is well enhanced. After 100 cycles at 1 C rate(1 C=200 mA/g), the capacity of SnO₂ modified Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ retains 83 mA·h/g(64% to the initial capacity), while the capacity for the pristine Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ is only 38 mA·h/g(33.5% to the initial capacity). X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that the ratio of Mn⁴⁺ increases after SnO₂ modification, leading to less oxygen vacancy and expanded lattice. As a result, the capacity of Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ increases from 178 mA·h/g to 197 mA·h/g after SnO₂ modification. Furthermore, the rate performance of Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ is enhanced with SnO₂ coating, due to high electronic conductivity of SnO₂ and expanded lattice after SnO₂ coating. The capacity of SnO₂ modified Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ at 5 C increases from 21 mA·h/g(pristine Na_0.67Fe_0.5Mn_0.5O₂) to 35 mA·h/g.     

1,3-二氧戊环基LiCF3SO3电解液对锂硫电池正极材料单质硫的电化学性能影响

测试了二元和多元溶剂组分的1,3-二氧戊环基LiCF3SO3电解液的粘度、离子电导率和单质硫的溶解度. 研究结果表明, 由较强的给电子能力溶剂组成的低粘度电解液较容易提高单质硫的氧化还原反应活性和可逆性能, 有利于提高单质硫在2.10 V附近的低放电平台电位和放电比容量. DOL-DME LiCF3SO3电解液能够较好地改善单质硫电极的表面钝化层结构, 促进电活性物质离子扩散和降低界面电荷传递阻抗, 从而表现出很好的放电倍率特性. 在室温下充放电流密度分别为0.1和0.2 mA/cm2时, 单质硫的首次放电比容量为792 mA·h/g, 第29次放电比容量达到412 mA·h/g.     

Encapsulating Sulfur into Hierarchically Ordered Porous Carbon as a High‐Performance Cathode for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

A three‐dimensional (3D) hierarchical carbon–sulfur nanocomposite that is useful as a high‐performance cathode for rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries is reported. The 3D hierarchically ordered porous carbon (HOPC) with mesoporous walls and interconnected macropores was prepared by in situ self‐assembly of colloidal polymer and silica spheres with sucrose as the carbon source. The obtained porous carbon possesses a large specific surface area and pore volume with narrow mesopore size distribution, and acts as a host and conducting framework to contain highly dispersed elemental sulfur. Electrochemical tests reveal that the HOPC/S nanocomposite with well‐defined nanostructure delivers a high initial specific capacity up to 1193 mAh g^?1 and a stable capacity of 884 mAh g^?1 after 50 cycles at 0.1 C. In addition, the HOPC/S nanocomposite exhibits high reversible capacity at high rates. The excellent electrochemical performance is attributed exclusively to the beneficial integration of the mesopores for the electrochemical reaction and macropores for ion transport. The mesoporous walls of the HOPC act as solvent‐restricted reactors for the redox reaction of sulfur and aid in suppressing the diffusion of polysulfide species into the electrolyte. The “open” ordered interconnected macropores and windows facilitate transportation of electrolyte and solvated lithium ions during the charge/discharge process. These results show that nanostructured carbon with hierarchical pore distribution could be a promising scaffold for encapsulating sulfur to approach high specific capacity and energy density with long cycling performance.     

Strong Lithium Polysulfide Chemisorption on Electroactive Sites of Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Composites For High‐Performance Lithium–Sulfur Battery Cathodes

Despite the high theoretical capacity of lithium–sulfur batteries, their practical applications are severely hindered by a fast capacity decay, stemming from the dissolution and diffusion of lithium polysulfides in the electrolyte. A novel functional carbon composite (carbon‐nanotube‐interpenetrated mesoporous nitrogen‐doped carbon spheres, MNCS/CNT), which can strongly adsorb lithium polysulfides, is now reported to act as a sulfur host. The nitrogen functional groups of this composite enable the effective trapping of lithium polysulfides on electroactive sites within the cathode, leading to a much improved electrochemical performance (1200 mAh g^?1 after 200 cycles). The enhancement in adsorption can be attributed to the chemical bonding of lithium ions by nitrogen functional groups in the MNCS/CNT framework. Furthermore, the micrometer‐sized spherical structure of the material yields a high areal capacity (ca. 6 mAh cm^?2) with a high sulfur loading of approximately 5 mg cm^?2, which is ideal for practical applications of the lithium–sulfur batteries.     

微波-固相复合加热技术合成LiNi0.5Co0.5O2及其性能研究

用高分子分散及微波-固相复合加热技术合成了层状锂离子电池正极材料LiNi0.5Co0.5O2. 采用循环伏安、充放电循环、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)以及X射线粉末衍射(XRD)等测试技术, 研究了煅烧条件对材料微观形貌、相结构以及电化学性能的影响规律. 研究结果表明: 在750 ℃煅烧4 h即可得到形状为类球形的纯相层状LiNi0.5Co0.5O2正极材料, 该材料的最大放电容量达到154 mA·h/g, 循环10周后放电容量仍保持在148 mA·h/g以上.