Issue 46, 2018

Inorganic separators enable significantly suppressed polysulfide shuttling in high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

Despite being a promising energy storage system due to their high theoretical energy density of 2567 W h kg−1 and economic applicability, liquid electrolyte based lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries suffer from several challenges including the polysulfide shuttling effect and lithium dendrite growth, causing continuous capacity decay and severe safety concerns. To address these issues, three types of porous ceramic membranes (garnet type Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12, Y0.16Zr0.84O2−δ, and Al2O3) are presented as separators for Li–S batteries. It is found that the mechanically stiff separators not only have strong affinity for polysulfides but also have high mechanical strength to block lithium dendrite penetration, resulting in a significantly improved electrochemical performance and dramatically enhanced safety of Li–S batteries. Specifically, by employing the Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12 separator, the Li–S battery can achieve an extended cycle life (over 500 cycles at 0.5C with a capacity decay of 0.034% per cycle on average) and high rate performance up to 2C, outperforming the reported Li–S batteries based on dense ceramic membranes. This work has valuable reference significance in developing porous inorganic separators and inorganic/organic composite electrolytes for high-performance Li–S batteries with enhanced safety characteristics.

Graphical abstract: Inorganic separators enable significantly suppressed polysulfide shuttling in high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Aug 2018
Accepted
27 Oct 2018
First published
30 Oct 2018

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018,6, 23720-23729

Inorganic separators enable significantly suppressed polysulfide shuttling in high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

H. Qu, J. Ju, B. Chen, N. Xue, H. Du, X. Han, J. Zhang, G. Xu, Z. Yu, X. Wang and G. Cui, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018, 6, 23720 DOI: 10.1039/C8TA07823H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements