Journal
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
Volume 7, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201602078
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Funding
- Research Grants Council (GRF) [613612, 16212814]
- Innovation and Technology Commission (ITF) of Hong Kong SAR [ITS/318/14]
- SENG PhD Fellowship from the School of Engineering at HKUST
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Although lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs) have attracted much interest owing to their high energy densities, synthesis of high-rate cathodes and understanding their volume expansion behavior still remain challenging. Herein, electrospinning is used to prepare porous carbon nanofiber (PCNF) hosts, where both the pore volume and surface area are tailored by optimizing the sacrificial agent content and the activation temperature. Benefiting from the ameliorating functional features of high electrical conductivity, large pore volume, and Li ion permselective micropores, the PCNF/A550/S electrode activated at 550 degrees C exhibits a high sulfur loading of 71 wt%, a high capacity of 945 mA h g(-1) at 1 C, and excellent high-rate capability. The in situ transmission electron microscope examination reveals that the lithiation product, Li2S, is contained within the electrode with only approximate to 35% volume expansion and the carbon host remains intact without fracture. In contrast, the PCNF/A750/S electrode with damaged carbon spheres exhibits sulfur sublimation, a larger volume expansion of over 61%, and overflowing of Li2S, a testament to its poor cyclic stability. These findings provide, for the first time, a new insight into the correlation between volume expansion and electrochemical performance of the electrode, offering a potential design strategy to synthesize high-rate and stable LSB cathodes.
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