Sulfur cloaked with different carbonaceous materials for high performance lithium sulfur batteries

Carbon matrices have attracted the attention enthusiastically as the improver materials of sulfur for rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery. In this work, various morphologies (sphere, fiber, tube and layer) based carbon materials have been used for preparing the sulfur-carbon binary composites via melt diffusion method for lithium-sulfur battery application. The prepared binary composites have been characterized for its structural and morphological information using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and, Scanning and Transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical studies are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, charge-discharge and cycle life after being assembled as lithium-sulfur cell. The S-prGO composite exhibits the initial discharge capacity of 893 mAh g⁻¹ and it sustains over 50 cycles (598 mAh g⁻¹) at 0.1C, with low capacity fading rate when compared to the other composites studied. A remarkable electrochemical performance indicates that the sheet like morphology can accommodate the volume expansion of sulfur and the oxygen groups containing GO minimize the dissolution of lithium polysulfides.