Enabling High-Rate and Safe Lithium Ion-Sulfur Batteries by Effective Combination of Sulfur-Copolymer Cathode and Hard-Carbon Anode

Dan Thien Nguyen; Alexander Hoefling; Minha Yee; Giang Thi Huong Nguyen; Patrick Theato; Young Joo Lee; Seung-Wan Song

doi:10.1002/cssc.201802430

Enabling High-Rate and Safe Lithium Ion-Sulfur Batteries by Effective Combination of Sulfur-Copolymer Cathode and Hard-Carbon Anode

ChemSusChem. 2019 Jan 24;12(2):480-486. doi: 10.1002/cssc.201802430. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Authors

Dan Thien Nguyen¹, Alexander Hoefling², Minha Yee¹, Giang Thi Huong Nguyen¹, Patrick Theato^{2

3}, Young Joo Lee⁴, Seung-Wan Song¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.
² Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Hamburg, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
³ Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry/Biological Interfaces III, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131, Karlsruhe/76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
⁴ Institute of Inorganic and Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Hamburg, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.

PMID: 30479038
DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201802430

Abstract

Fabrication and high-rate performance of a safe lithium ion-sulfur battery (LISB) with sulfur-copolymer [poly(S-co-divinylbenzene (DVB)] cathode having a sulfur content higher than 90 wt %, a carbon-fiber interlayer, and a prelithiated hard-carbon (Li-HC) anode are reported, which mitigates problems of lithium-sulfur cells such as performance fade and safety issues due to dissolution of polysulfides and lithium-dendrite growth. The poly(S-co-DVB) cathode offers scalability owing to the abundance and low cost of DVB. The Li-HC anode, the surface of which is passivated by a solid electrolyte interphase, inhibits the deposition of polysulfides. As a result, the LISB exhibits reversible and stable cycling performance at high rates up to 3 C, which enables quick charging within 20 min, and delivers a reversible capacity of approximately 400 mAh g^-1 at 3 C for 500 cycles. The results give insight into the design principle of promising, quickly charged, and safe LISBs.

Keywords: batteries; hard carbon; prelithiated; rate capability; sulfur copolymerization.

Abstract

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