Designing High-Energy Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

A special issue of Batteries (ISSN 2313-0105). This special issue belongs to the section "Battery Materials and Interfaces: Anode, Cathode, Separators and Electrolytes or Others".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 November 2024 | Viewed by 3072

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Interests: energy storage; battery safety; battery electrolytes; metal-air

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries offer promising advantages, including a high theoretical energy density, low cost, and a reduced environmental impact. They hold the potential for lightweight applications and sustainable energy storage for renewables. However, major issues hinder their widespread adoption, including the sulfur shuttle effect leading to capacity loss, the low electrical conductivity of sulfur, volume expansion causing mechanical stress and a reduced cycle life. Fundamental studies, as well as new strategies related to electrode materials and configuration, electrolyte, and protective coatings, are indispensable and pave their way for large-scale application.

In this Special Issue, we welcome contributions that help to understand the degradation mechanism, the behavior of sulfur complexes during cycles, and novel solutions to extend the cycle performance with a high energy density.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Degradation mechanism
  • Transition of sulfur complexes
  • Advanced cathode materials
  • High mass loading structured electrodes
  • New electrolyte compositions
  • Protective coating layers
  • Li metal anode modification
  • Novel separator design

Dr. Mingqian Li
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • degradation mechanism
  • shuttle effect
  • protective coatings
  • high energy density
  • solvation structure
  • electrical conductivity
  • volume expansion
  • lithium–sulfur

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 4663 KiB  
Article
PEI/Super P Cathode Coating: A Pathway to Superior Lithium–Sulfur Battery Performance
by Junhee Heo, Gyeonguk Min, Jae Bin Lee, Patrick Joohyun Kim, Kyuchul Shin, In Woo Cheong, Hyunchul Kang, Songhun Yoon, Won-Gwang Lim, Jinwoo Lee and Jin Joo
Batteries 2023, 9(11), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9110531 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2722
Abstract
Lithium–sulfur batteries exhibit a high energy density of 2500–2600 Wh/kg with affordability and environmental advantages, positioning them as a promising next-generation energy source. However, the insulating nature of sulfur/Li2S and the rapid capacity fading due to the shuttle effect have hindered [...] Read more.
Lithium–sulfur batteries exhibit a high energy density of 2500–2600 Wh/kg with affordability and environmental advantages, positioning them as a promising next-generation energy source. However, the insulating nature of sulfur/Li2S and the rapid capacity fading due to the shuttle effect have hindered their commercialization. In this study, we propose a method to boost the performance of lithium–sulfur batteries by modifying the sulfur cathode with a coating layer composed of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and Super P conductive carbon. The PEI/Super P-modified electrode retained 73% of its discharge capacity after 300 cycles at the 2 C scan rate. The PEI/Super P coated layer effectively adsorbs lithium polysulfides, suppressing the shuttle effect and acting as an auxiliary electrode to facilitate the electrochemical reactions of sulfur/Li2S. We analyzed the PEI/Super P-modified electrodes using symmetric cells, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The battery manufacturing method presented here is not only cost-effective but also industrially viable due to its compatibility with the roll-to-roll process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing High-Energy Lithium-Sulfur Batteries)
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