In Li–S batteries, the insulating nature of sulfur and Li 2 S causes enormous challenges, such as high polarization and low active material utilization. The nucleation of the solid discharge product, Li 2 S, during the discharge cycle, and the activation of Li 2 S in the subsequent charge cycle, cause a potential challenge that needs to be overcome. Moreover, the shuttling of soluble lithium polysulfide intermediate species results in active material loss and early capacity fade. In this study, we have used thiourea as an electrolyte additive and showed that it serves as both a redox mediator to overcome the Li 2 S activation energy barrier and a shuttle inhibitor to mitigate the notorious polysulfide shuttling via the investigation of thiourea redox activity, shuttle current measurements and study of Li 2 S activation. The steady-state shuttle current of the Li–S battery shows a 6-fold drop when 0.02 M thiourea is added to the standard electrolyte. Moreover, by adding thiourea, the charge plateau for the first cycle of the Li 2 S based cathodes shifts from 3.5 V (standard ether electrolyte) to 2.5 V (with 0.2 M thiourea). Using this additive, the capacity of the Li–S battery stabilizes at ∼839 mA h g −1 after 5 cycles and remains stable over 700 cycles with a low capacity decay rate of 0.025% per cycle, a tremendous improvement compared to the reference battery that retains only ∼350 mA h g −1 after 300 cycles. In the end, to demonstrate the practical and broad applicability of thiourea in overcoming sulfur-battery challenges and in eliminating the need for complex electrode design, we study two additional battery systems – lithium metal-free cells with a graphite anode and Li 2 S cathode, and Li–S cells with simple slurry-based cathodes fabricated via blending commercial carbon black/S and a binder. We believe that this study manifests the advantages of redox active electrolyte additives to overcome several bottlenecks in the Li–S battery field.
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Pathways Toward High-energy Li-sulfur Batteries, Identified via Multi-reaction Chemical Modeling
Here we present a 1D model of a Li-Sulfur battery with physically derived geometric parameters and thermodynamically consistent electrochemical kinetics. The approach enables straightforward comparison of proposed Li-S mechanisms and provides insights into the influence of polysulfide intermediates on battery discharge. Comparing predictions from multiple mechanisms demonstrates the need for both lithiated and non-lithiated polysulfide species, and highlights the challenge of developing parameter estimates for complex electrochemical mechanisms. The model is also used to explore cathode design strategies. Discharge performance and polysulfide concentrations for electrolyte/sulfur ratios in the range 2–4
- Award ID(s):
- 1931584
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10361810
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Electrochemical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society
- Volume:
- 169
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0013-4651
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- Article No. 010520
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract A stable lean‐electrolyte operating lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery based on a cathode of Li2S in situ electrocatalytically deposited from L2S8catholyte onto a support of metallic molybdenum disulfide (1T‐MoS2) on carbon cloth (CC) is created. The 1T‐MoS2significantly accelerates the conversion Li2S8catholyte to Li2S, chemically adsorbs lithium polysulfide (LiPSs) from solution, and suppresses crossover of the LiPSs to the anode. These experimental findings are explained by density functional theory calculations that show that 1T‐MoS2gives rise to strong adsorption of polysulfides on its surface and is electrocatalytic for the targeted reversible Li–S conversion reactions. The CC/1T‐MoS2electrode in a Li–S battery delivers an initial capacity of 1238 mAh g−1, with a low capacity fade of only 0.051% per cycle over 500 cycles at 0.5
C . Even at a high sulfur loading (4.4 mg cm−2) and low electrolyte/S (E/S) ratio of 3.7 µL mg−1, the battery achieves an initial reversible capacity of 1176 mA h g−1at 0.5C , with 87% capacity retention after 160 cycles. The post 500 cycles Li metal opposing 1T‐MoS2is substantially smoother than the Li opposing CC, with XPS supporting the role of 1T‐MoS2in inhibiting LiPSs crossover. -
Enhancing battery energy storage capability and reducing the cost per average energy capacity is urgent to satisfy the increasing energy demand in modern society. The lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is especially attractive because of its high theoretical specific energy (around 2600 W h kg-1), low cost, and low toxicity.1 Despite these advantages, the practical utilization of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries to date has been hindered by a series of obstacles, including low active material loading, shuttle effects, and sluggish sulfur conversion kinetics.2 The traditional 2D planer thick electrode is considered as a general approach to enhance the mass loading of the Li-S battery.3 However, the longer diffusion length of lithium ions, which resulted in high tortuosity in the compact stacking thick electrode, decreases the penetration ability of the electrolyte into the entire cathode.4 Although an effort to induce catalysts in the cathode was made to promote sulfur conversion kinetic conditions, catalysts based on transition metals suffered from the low electronic conductivity, and some elements (i.e.: Co, Mn) may even absorb and restrict polysulfides for further reaction. 5 To mitigate the issues listed above, herein we propose a novel sulfur cathode design strategy enabled by additive manufacturing and oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD). 6,7 Specifically, the cathode is designed to have a hierarchal hollow structure via a stereolithography technique to increase sulfur usage. Microchannels are constructed on the tailored sulfur cathode to further fortify the wettability of the electrolyte. The as-printed cathode is then sintered at 700 °C in an N2 atmosphere in order to generate a carbon skeleton (i.e.: carbonization of resin) with intrinsic carbon defects. The intrinsic carbon defects are expected to create favorable sulfur conversion conditions with sufficient electronic conductivity. In this study, the oCVD technique is leveraged to produce a conformal coating layer to eliminate shuttle effects. Identified by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping characterizations, the oCVD PEDOT is not only covered on the surface of the cathode but also on the inner surface of the microchannels. High-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses (C 1s and S 2p orbitals) between pristine and modified samples demonstrate that a high concentration of the defects has been produced on the sulfur matrix after sintering and posttreatment. In-operando XRD diffractograms show that the Li2S is generated in the oCVD PEDOT-coated sample during the charge and discharge process even with a high current density, confirming an eminent sulfur conversion kinetic condition. In addition, ICP-OES results of lithium metal anode at different states of charge (SoC) verify that the shuttle effects are excellently restricted by oCVD PEDOT. Overall, the high mass loading (> 5 mg cm-2) with an elevated sulfur utilization ratio, accelerated reaction kinetics and stabilized electrochemical process have been achieved on the sulfur cathode by implementing this innovative cathode design strategy. The results of this study demonstrate significant promises of employing pure sulfur powder with high electrochemical performance and suggest a pathway to the higher energy and power density battery. References: 1 Chen, Y. Adv Mater 33, e2003666. 2 Bhargav, A. Joule 4, 285-291. 3 Liu, S. Nano Energy 63, 103894. 4 Chu, T. Carbon Energy 3. 5 Li, Y. Matter 4, 1142-1188. 6 John P. Lock. Macromolecules 39, 4 (2006). 7 Zekoll, S. Energy & Environmental Science 11, 185-201.more » « less
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Abstract The lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery is a promising candidate for next‐generation high‐density energy storage devices because of its ultrahigh theoretical energy density and the natural abundance of sulfur. However, the practical performance of the sulfur cathode is plagued by fast capacity decay and poor cycle life, both of which can be attributed to the intrinsic dissolution/shuttling of lithium polysulfides. Here, a new built‐in magnetic field–enhanced polysulfide trapping mechanism is discovered by introducing ferromagnetic iron/iron carbide (Fe/Fe3C) nanoparticles with a graphene shell (Fe/Fe3C/graphene) onto a flexible activated cotton textile (ACT) fiber to prepare the ACT@Fe/Fe3C/graphene sulfur host. The novel trapping mechanism is demonstrated by significant differences in the diffusion behavior of polysulfides in a custom‐designed liquid cell compared to a pure ACT/S cathode. Furthermore, a cell assembled using the ACT@Fe/Fe3C/S cathode exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of ≈764 mAh g−1, excellent rate performance, and a remarkably long lifespan of 600 cycles using ACT@Fe/Fe3C/S (whereas only 100 cycles can be achieved using pure ACT/S). The new magnetic field–enhanced trapping mechanism provides not only novel insight but unveils new possibilities for mitigating the “shuttle effect” of polysulfides thereby promoting the practical applications of Li–S batteries.
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Abstract The interrelation is explored between external pressure (0.1, 1, and 10 MPa), solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) structure/morphology, and lithium metal plating/stripping behavior. To simulate anode‐free lithium metal batteries (AF‐LMBs) analysis is performed on “empty” Cu current collectors in standard carbonate electrolyte. Lower pressure promotes organic‐rich SEI and macroscopically heterogeneous, filament‐like Li electrodeposits interspersed with pores. Higher pressure promotes inorganic F‐rich SEI with more uniform and denser Li film. A “seeding layer” of lithiated pristine graphene (pG@Cu) favors an anion‐derived F‐rich SEI and promotes uniform metal electrodeposition, enabling extended electrochemical stability at a lower pressure. State‐of‐the‐art electrochemical performance is achieved at 1MPa: pG‐enabled half‐cell is stable after 300 h (50 cycles) at 1 mA cm−2rate −3 mAh cm−2capacity (17.5 µm plated/stripped), with cycling Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.8%. AF‐LMB cells with high mass loading NMC622 cathode (21 mg cm−2) undergo 200 cycles with a CE of 99.4% at C/5‐charge and C/2‐discharge (1C = 178 mAh g−1). Density functional theory (DFT) highlights the differences in the adsorption energy of solvated‐Li+onto various crystal planes of Cu (100), (110), and (111), versus lithiated/delithiated (0001) graphene, giving insight regarding the role of support surface energetics in promoting SEI heterogeneity.
