Preparation and electrochemical performance of a hierarchically porous activated carbon aerogel /sulfur cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries

TANG Zhi-wei; XU Fei; LIANG Ye-ru; WU Ding-cai; FU Ruo-wen

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Article Navigation > New Carbon Mater. > 2015 > 30(4): 319-326

TANG Zhi-wei, XU Fei, LIANG Ye-ru, WU Ding-cai, FU Ruo-wen. Preparation and electrochemical performance of a hierarchically porous activated carbon aerogel /sulfur cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries. New Carbon Mater., 2015, 30(4): 319-326.

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Preparation and electrochemical performance of a hierarchically porous activated carbon aerogel /sulfur cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries

Materials Science Institute, PCFM Laboratory, School of Chemistry&|Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China

Received Date: 2015-03-10
Accepted Date: 2015-09-07
Rev Recd Date: 2015-07-25
Publish Date: 2015-08-28

Abstract

Abstract

An activated carbon aerogel with a hierarchical pore structure was prepared through KOH activation with a KOH/organic aerogel with mass ratio 3:1, followed by carbonization at 900 ℃ for 3 h. The activated carbon aerogel was used as a conductive host of elemental sulfur to prepare a composite by a melt-infiltration method. Nitrogen adsorption, SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the samples before and after the sulfur infiltration. Cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to evaluate the electrochemical performance of the composite as a cathode in lithium ion batteries. It is found that the composite has a sulfur content of up to 66.2%, a high initial discharge capacity of 1 287 mAh·g^-1 at a current density of 0.2 C and a retained capacity of 643 mAh·g^-1 after 200 cycles, which are much higher than those of a sulfur cathode without the carbon host. The composite also exhibits excellent rate capability.
- Lithium-sulfur battery,
- Activated carbon aerogel,
- KOH activation,
- Composite material,
- Electrochemical performance

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