Electrochemical Properties of Tin Sulfide Nano-Sheets as Cathode Material for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Muhammad Saleem,Gohar Mehboob,Ahsan Ejaz,Shahnwaz Hussain,Said Nasir Khisro,M K Alamgir,Adil Ahmed,J M Ashfaq,M Ghazanfar,Kashif Mehmood,M Z Ansar,Rafiqa-Tul-Rasool Rafiqa-Tul-Rasool,M Shafiq Ahmed

doi:10.3389/fchem.2020.00254

Abstract

Unprecedented self-assembled hierarchical nano-sheets of SnS were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. In a typical reaction, SnCl2.2H2O and Na2S.9H2O were used as reactants. Structural and morphological properties were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the electrochemical properties were measured by cyclic voltammetry, charge-discharge cycles, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). SEM results showed the 1-D SnS nano-sheets with an average thickness of around 20 nm. Cyclic voltammogram and charge-discharge spectra showed good cycling stability. All these results showed that SnS nano-sheets are promising candidate material to be used as electrode for Li-S batteries.

Highlights

The phenomenal progress in the development of a large number of electronic machinery is appearing to be a building headway in the advancement of up-to-a-minute secondary batteries
still lacking. This material (SnS) nano-sheets were successfully synthesized by template free hydrothermal method at the temperature of 200◦C
X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed the orthorhombic crystal structure of SnS material. 1-D fine nano-sheets were clearly seen in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) results showed that no any other element present in the sample except Sn and S

Summary

Introduction

The phenomenal progress in the development of a large number of electronic machinery is appearing to be a building headway in the advancement of up-to-a-minute secondary batteries. Li-S batteries possess a significant theoretical energy density i.e., 2,600 Wh/Kg and high theoretical specific capacity i.e., 1,675 mAh/g (Choi et al, 2012; Zhang, 2012). Their reported operating voltage is 2.1 V, which is compatible with devices which need a low operating voltage. These batteries deliver charge by the typical discharging process, in which S8 molecules undergo a reduction process by gaining electrons to produce lithium polysulfides (Li2Sx). The discharging chain for Li-S batteries is given below: S8 → Li2S8 → Li2S6 → Li2S4 → Li2S3 → Li2S2 → Li2S (1)

Methods

Results

Conclusion