An efficient lithium-ion battery was assembled by using an enhanced sulfur-based cathode and a silicon oxide-based anode and proposed as an innovative energy-storage system. The sulfur-carbon composite, which exploits graphene carbon with a 3 D array (3DG-S), was synthesized by a reduction step through a microwave-assisted solvothermal technique and was fully characterized in terms of structure and morphology, thereby revealing suitable features for lithium-cell application. Electrochemical tests of the 3DG-S electrode in a lithium half-cell indicated a capacity ranging from 1200 to 1000 mAh g-1 at currents of C/10 and 1 C, respectively. Remarkably, the Li-alloyed anode, namely, Liy SiOx -C prepared by the sol-gel method and lithiated by surface treatment, showed suitable performance in a lithium half-cell by using an electrolyte designed for lithium-sulfur batteries. The Liy SiOx -C/3DG-S battery was found to exhibit very promising properties with a capacity of approximately 460 mAh gS-1 delivered at an average voltage of approximately 1.5 V over 200 cycles, suggesting that the characterized materials would be suitable candidates for low-cost and high-energy-storage applications.
Keywords: graphene; lithium-ion batteries; microwave chemistry; silicon; sulfur.
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