Hydrophilicity-controlled ordered mesoporous carbon for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Abstract

Ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials were synthesized from a mesoporous silica KIT-6 (3-D cubic la3d meso-structure) as the hard-template via a nano-replication method. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic OMC materials were prepared using different carbon precursors including sucrose (suc-OMC) and phenanthrene (phe-OMC) at different carbonization temperatures of 700 degrees C and 1100 degrees C, respectively. The OMC materials thus obtained exhibit high surface areas, uniform mesopore sizes and highly ordered meso-structure. To investigate the hydrophilicity effect of OMC materials on the performance of lithium-sulfur battery, we prepared the samples having different ratios of the suc-OMC to phe-OMC, which were 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100. As a result, the mixed OMC materials (with ratios of 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75) exhibited better cycle performances, compared to those of the suc-OMC and phe-OMC.