High loading cotton cellulose-based aerogel self-standing electrode for Li-S batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted considerable attention due to their high energy density (2600 Wh kg(-1)). However, its commercialization is hindered seriously by the low loading and utilization rate of sulfur cathodes. Herein, we designed the cellulose-based graphene carbon composite aerogel (CCA) self-standing electrode to enhance the performance of Li-S batteries. The CCA contributes to the mass loading and utilization efficiency of sulfur, because of its unique physical structure: low density (0.018 g cm(-3)), large specific surface area (657.85 m(2) g(-1)), high porosity (96%), and remarkable electrolyte adsorption (42.25 times). Compared to Al (about 49%), the CCA displayed excellent sulfur use efficiency (86%) and could reach to high area capacity of 8.60 mAh cm(-2) with 9.11 mg S loading. Meanwhile, the CCA exhibits the excellent potential for pulse sensing applications due to its flexibility and superior sensitivity to electrical response signals. (C) 2020 Science China Press. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science China Press. All rights reserved.