Cement/Sulfur for Lithium-Sulfur Cells.

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur batteries represent a promising class of next-generation rechargeable energy storage technologies, primarily because of their high-capacity sulfur cathode, reversible battery chemistry, low toxicity, and cost-effectiveness. However, they lack a tailored cell material and configuration for enhancing their high electrochemical utilization and stability. This study introduces a cross-disciplinary concept involving cost-efficient cement and sulfur to prepare a cement/sulfur energy storage material. Although cement has low conductivity and porosity, our findings demonstrate that its robust polysulfide adsorption capability is beneficial in the design of a cathode composite. The cathode composite attains enhanced cell fabrication parameters, featuring a high sulfur content and loading of 80 wt% and 6.4 mg cm-2, respectively. The resulting cell with the cement/sulfur cathode composite exhibits high active-material retention and utilization, resulting in a high charge storage capacity of 1189 mA∙h g-1, high rate performance across C/20 to C/3 rates, and an extended lifespan of 200 cycles. These attributes contribute to excellent cell performance values, demonstrating areal capacities ranging from 4.59 to 7.61 mA∙h cm-2, an energy density spanning 9.63 to 15.98 mW∙h cm-2, and gravimetric capacities between 573 and 951 mA∙h g-1 per electrode. Therefore, this study pioneers a new approach in lithium-sulfur battery research, opting for a nonporous material with robust polysulfide adsorption capabilities, namely cement. It effectively showcases the potential of the resulting cement/sulfur cathode composite to enhance fabrication feasibility, cell fabrication parameters, and cell performance values.