A facile synthesis of high-surface-area sulfur-carbon composites for Li/S batteries

Authors

Mohammad Kaiser, University of WollongongFollow
Xin Liang, University of WollongongFollow
Konstantin K. Konstantinov, University of WollongongFollow
Hua-Kun Liu, University of WollongongFollow
S X. Dou, University of WollongongFollow
Jiazhao Wang, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

101270

Publication Details

Kaiser, M. Rejaul., Liang, X., Konstantinov, K., Liu, H., Dou, S. & Wang, J. (2015). A facile synthesis of high-surface-area sulfur-carbon composites for Li/S batteries. Chemistry: A European Journal, 21 (28), 10061-10069.

Abstract

Small-grained elemental sulfur is precipitated from sodium thiosulfate (Na₂S₂O₃) in a carbon-containing oxalic acid (HOOC-COOH) solution through a novel spray precipitation method. Surface area analysis, elemental mapping, and transmission electron micrographs revealed that the spray-precipitated sulfur particles feature 11 times higher surface area compared to conventional precipitated sulfur, with homogeneous distribution in the carbon. Moreover, the scanning electron micrographs show that these high-surface-area sulfur particles are firmly adhered to and covered by carbon. This precipitated S-C composite exhibits high discharge capacity with about 75% capacity retention. The initial discharge capacity was further improved to 1444mAhg^-1 by inserting a free-standing single-walled carbon nanotube layer in between the cathode and the separator. Moreover, with the help of the fixed capacity charging technique, 91.6% capacity retention was achieved.