Issue 45, 2023

A low-self-discharge high-loading polysulfide cathode design for lithium–sulfur cells

Abstract

Lithium–sulfur batteries are a promising energy storage system with high energy density. However, during prolonged storage, they are prone to rapid capacity-fade, which is caused by severe self-discharge. This significantly shortens batteries' shelf life and impairs their long-term performance. This self-discharge effect has rarely been discussed in the literature. In this study, we develop a low-self-discharge polysulfide cathode with a carbonized electrospun nanofiber substrate. This cathode design achieves a high areal sulfur loading (4.03 mg cm−2) and a high sulfur content (66.8 wt%), while maintaining a low capacity-fade rate (0.26% per day) over a long storage time (90 days). In addition to the high capacity retention, it also maintains high lithium-ion diffusion coefficients after long-term storage. As a result, the rested low-self-discharge polysulfide cathode achieves a long cycle life (200 cycles) with stable electrochemistry. We further evaluate the long-term low-self-discharge performance of our lithium–sulfur cell via a series of quantitative analyses and performance analyses of the self-discharge behavior of the high-loading polysulfide cathode. The results provide key insights into the electrochemistry that occurs during the long-term storage of lithium–sulfur cells and into the low-self-discharge behavior of our designed cathode.

Graphical abstract: A low-self-discharge high-loading polysulfide cathode design for lithium–sulfur cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Sep 2023
Accepted
01 Nov 2023
First published
01 Nov 2023

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 24651-24660

A low-self-discharge high-loading polysulfide cathode design for lithium–sulfur cells

C. Wu, Y. Ho and S. Chung, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 24651 DOI: 10.1039/D3TA05632E

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