Rubber-Derived Sulfur Composite Cathode Material for Li-S/Li-ion Battery

A rubber-derived sulfur composite cathode material for the Li-S battery/Li-ion battery was synthesized by the vulcanization process of butadiene rubber as a polymer source and a large amount of sulfur. In this study, the higher vulcanization temperature of 450 degrees C and a larger amount of sulfur (rubber : sulfur = 1 : 10, mass/mass) than the mass production process of the rubber were applied. The rubberderived sulfur composite has a large amount of sulfur, ca. 58 wt% and a stable cycling ability with a capacity of 400 mAh g(-1) at 30 degrees C. The cells consisting of the rubber-derived sulfur composite as the cathode and SiO as the anode displayed a great potential as for the next-generation LIBs because of its both electrodes containing no transition metals, outstanding electrochemical properties and safety performance. The cell showed a superior high and low temperature performance from -20-80 degrees C for over 100 cycles and a good rate performance in which the capacity of ca. 600 mAh g(-1) was obtained at the SC-rate at 60 degrees C. In addition, there were no thermal runaway and no evolution of hydrogen sulfide in the nail penetration test. (C) The Author(s) 2022. Published by ECSJ.

Automated summary

A rubber-derived sulfur composite cathode material for Li-S/Li-ion batteries was synthesized by vulcanization process using butadiene rubber and a large amount of sulfur. The composite material showed a high sulfur content, stable cycling ability, and excellent electrochemical performance. The resulting battery exhibited superior high and low temperature performance, as well as high capacity at a high discharge rate.