Issue 46, 2018

Building a cycle-stable sulphur cathode by tailoring its redox reaction into a solid-phase conversion mechanism

Abstract

Sulphur has been actively investigated as a high capacity, naturally abundant and low cost cathode for next generation rechargeable lithium batteries. However, the poor cyclability and low capacity utilization of sulphur materials remain a great challenge for battery applications. To overcome this problem, we proposed a new strategy to convert the redox chemistry of sulphur cathodes from the dissolution–deposition mechanism to a solid-phase conversion (SPC) reaction by in situ formation of a thin and compact solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the sulphur surface through a prompt nucleophilic reaction of soluble polysulfide intermediates with carbonate molecules specially designed as a co-solvent in the electrolyte. The such-formed SEI film can effectively block the penetration of the electrolyte but allows Li+ transport for electrochemical conversion, thus completely suppressing the generation and dissolution of polysulfide intermediates without sacrificing the two-electron redox capacity of sulphur. As a result, the S/C cathode in a VC/DME + DOL co-solvent electrolyte demonstrated a stable cycling capacity of ∼1100 mA h g−1 and a high capacity retention of 88% over 400 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of ∼100%, showing a prospect for battery application. More significantly, the strategy and method developed in this work may provide a new insight for future development of structurally and electrochemically stable sulphur cathodes for building practically viable Li–S batteries.

Graphical abstract: Building a cycle-stable sulphur cathode by tailoring its redox reaction into a solid-phase conversion mechanism

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 اگست 2018
Accepted
19 اکتوٗبر 2018
First published
20 اکتوٗبر 2018

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018,6, 23396-23407

Building a cycle-stable sulphur cathode by tailoring its redox reaction into a solid-phase conversion mechanism

F. He, X. Wu, J. Qian, Y. Cao, H. Yang, X. Ai and D. Xia, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018, 6, 23396 DOI: 10.1039/C8TA08159J

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