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Research Article

Three-dimensional spongy framework as superlyophilic, strongly absorbing, and electrocatalytic polysulfide reservoir layer for high-rate and long-cycling lithium-sulfur batteries

Lianbo Ma1,§, Guoyin Zhu1,§, Wenjun Zhang1, Peiyang Zhao1, Yi Hu1, Yanrong Wang1, Lei Wang1, Renpeng Chen1, Tao Chen1, Zuoxiu Tie1, Jie Liu1,2, Zhong Jin1 ( )
Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOESchool of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringNanjing UniversityNanjing210023China
Department of ChemistryDuke UniversityDurhamNC27708USA

§ Lianbo Ma and Guoyin Zhu contributed equally to this work.

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Abstract

In the development of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, various approaches have been adopted to enhance the electronic conductivity of the sulfur cathode and alleviate the shuttle effect of polysulfides; however, the strategies providing efficient solutions are still limited. To further improve the electrochemical performance of Li-S batteries, in this work we propose a new strategy involving the incorporation of a three-dimensional functional spongy framework as polysulfide reservoir layer, with strong absorbability and electrocatalytic activity towards sulfur species. The spongy framework has a hierarchical architecture composed of highly conductive Ni foam/graphene/carbon nanotubes/MnO2 nanoflakes (NGCM). The strongly interconnected Ni foam, graphene, and carbon nanotubes of the NGCM sponge facilitate electron transfer during discharge/charge processes; moreover, the superlyophilic properties of the NGCM sponge ensure good wettability and interface contact with the Li-S electrolyte, and the porous MnO2 nanoflakes provide strong chemisorptive and electrocatalytic effects on polysulfides (as confirmed theoretically and experimentally). The NGCM sponge, serving as a polysulfide reservoir layer attached on a conventional sulfur-mixed carbon nanotubes (S/CNTs) cathode, can provide improved reversible capacity, rate capability (593 mAh·g–1 at 3.0 C), and cycling stability. In addition, the self-discharge rate is greatly reduced, owing to the efficient conservation of polysulfides in the NGCM spongy framework.

Keywords

lithium-sulfur batteriescomposite spongy frameworkpolysulfide reservoir layerchemisorption and absorbabilityelectrocatalytic effect

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Nano Research
Volume 11 Issue 12,
December 2018
Pages 6436-6446
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-018-2168-8
Cite this article:
Ma L, Zhu G, Zhang W, et al. Three-dimensional spongy framework as superlyophilic, strongly absorbing, and electrocatalytic polysulfide reservoir layer for high-rate and long-cycling lithium-sulfur batteries. Nano Research, 2018, 11(12): 6436-6446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2168-8

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Received: 13 June 2018
Revised: 25 July 2018
Accepted: 02 August 2018
Published: 14 August 2018
© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018
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