Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries
Lithium–sulfur batteries are attractive candidates for next generation high energy applications, but more research works are needed to overcome their current challenges, namely: (a) the poor electronic conductivity of sulfur, and (b) the dissolution and migration of long-chain polysulfides. Inspired...
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| author | Ranjith Thangavel Aravindaraj G. Kannan Rubha Ponraj Karthikeyan Kaliyappan Won-Sub Yoon Dong-Won Kim Yun-Sung Lee |
| author_facet | Ranjith Thangavel Aravindaraj G. Kannan Rubha Ponraj Karthikeyan Kaliyappan Won-Sub Yoon Dong-Won Kim Yun-Sung Lee |
| author_sort | Ranjith Thangavel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lithium–sulfur batteries are attractive candidates for next generation high energy applications, but more research works are needed to overcome their current challenges, namely: (a) the poor electronic conductivity of sulfur, and (b) the dissolution and migration of long-chain polysulfides. Inspired by eco-friendly and bio-derived materials, we synthesized highly porous carbon from cinnamon sticks. The bio-carbon had an ultra-high surface area and large pore volume, which serves the dual functions of making sulfur particles highly conductive and acting as a polysulfide reservoir. Sulfur was predominantly impregnated into pores of the carbon, and the inter-connected hierarchical pore structure facilitated a faster ionic transport. The strong carbon framework maintained structural integrity upon volume expansion, and the unoccupied pores served as polysulfide trapping sites, thereby retaining the polysulfide within the cathode and preventing sulfur loss. These mechanisms contributed to the superior performance of the lithium-sulfur cell, which delivered a discharge capacity of 1020 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> at a 0.2C rate. Furthermore, the cell exhibited improved kinetics, with an excellent cycling stability for 150 cycles with a very low capacity decay of 0.10% per cycle. This strategy of combining all types of pores (micro, meso and macro) with a high pore volume and ultra-high surface area had a synergistic effect on improving the performance of the sulfur cathode. |
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| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:57:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
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| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-be652fc61bd649579112f9dfbec8fc672023-11-20T04:38:05ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912020-06-01106122010.3390/nano10061220Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur BatteriesRanjith Thangavel0Aravindaraj G. Kannan1Rubha Ponraj2Karthikeyan Kaliyappan3Won-Sub Yoon4Dong-Won Kim5Yun-Sung Lee6School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwang-ju, 61186, KoreaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, KoreaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, KoreaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, CanadaDepartment of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, KoreaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, KoreaSchool of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwang-ju, 61186, KoreaLithium–sulfur batteries are attractive candidates for next generation high energy applications, but more research works are needed to overcome their current challenges, namely: (a) the poor electronic conductivity of sulfur, and (b) the dissolution and migration of long-chain polysulfides. Inspired by eco-friendly and bio-derived materials, we synthesized highly porous carbon from cinnamon sticks. The bio-carbon had an ultra-high surface area and large pore volume, which serves the dual functions of making sulfur particles highly conductive and acting as a polysulfide reservoir. Sulfur was predominantly impregnated into pores of the carbon, and the inter-connected hierarchical pore structure facilitated a faster ionic transport. The strong carbon framework maintained structural integrity upon volume expansion, and the unoccupied pores served as polysulfide trapping sites, thereby retaining the polysulfide within the cathode and preventing sulfur loss. These mechanisms contributed to the superior performance of the lithium-sulfur cell, which delivered a discharge capacity of 1020 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> at a 0.2C rate. Furthermore, the cell exhibited improved kinetics, with an excellent cycling stability for 150 cycles with a very low capacity decay of 0.10% per cycle. This strategy of combining all types of pores (micro, meso and macro) with a high pore volume and ultra-high surface area had a synergistic effect on improving the performance of the sulfur cathode.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/6/1220lithium-sulfur batteriesbio-mass carbonhierarchical nanostructurespolysulfides |
| spellingShingle | Ranjith Thangavel Aravindaraj G. Kannan Rubha Ponraj Karthikeyan Kaliyappan Won-Sub Yoon Dong-Won Kim Yun-Sung Lee Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries Nanomaterials lithium-sulfur batteries bio-mass carbon hierarchical nanostructures polysulfides |
| title | Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries |
| title_full | Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries |
| title_fullStr | Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries |
| title_short | Cinnamon-Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon as an Effective Lithium Polysulfide Reservoir in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries |
| title_sort | cinnamon derived hierarchically porous carbon as an effective lithium polysulfide reservoir in lithium sulfur batteries |
| topic | lithium-sulfur batteries bio-mass carbon hierarchical nanostructures polysulfides |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/6/1220 |
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