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Research Article

Physical activation of graphene: An effective, simple and clean procedure for obtaining microporous graphene for high-performance Li/S batteries

Almudena Benítez1, Alvaro Caballero1, Julián Morales1( ), Jusef Hassoun2( ), Enrique Rodríguez-Castellón3, Jesús Canales-Vázquez4
Dpto. Química Inorgánica e Ingeniería Química,Instituto de Química Fina y Nanoquímica, Universidad de Córdoba,Córdoba,14071,Spain;
Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences,University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara, 17,Ferrara,44121,Italy;
Dpto. de Química Inorgánica, Cristalografía y Mineralogía,Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga,Málaga,29071,Spain;
Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha,Paseo de La Investigación 1,Albacete,02071,Spain;
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Abstract

Graphene nanosheets are a promising scaffold to accommodate S for achieving high performance Li/S battery. Nanosheet activation is used as a viable strategy to induce a micropore system and further improve the battery performance. Accordingly, chemical activation methods dominate despite the need of multiple stages, which slow down the process in addition to making them tiresome. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) N-doped graphene specimen was physically activated with CO2, a clean and single step process, and used for the preparation of a sulfur composite (A-3DNG/S). The A-3DNG/S composite exhibited outstanding electrochemical properties such as an excellent rate capability (1, 000 mAh·g-1 at 2C), high reversible capacity and cycling stability (average capacity ~ 800 mAh·g-1 at 1C after 200 cycles), values which exceed those measured in chemically activated graphene. Therefore, these results support the use of physical activation as a simple and efficient alternative to improve the performance of carbons as an S host for high-performance Li-S batteries.

Keywords

physical activation3D-graphenesolvothermal microwave synthesisLi-S battery

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Nano Research
Volume 12 Issue 4,
April 2019
Pages 759-766
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-019-2282-2
Cite this article:
Benítez A, Caballero A, Morales J, et al. Physical activation of graphene: An effective, simple and clean procedure for obtaining microporous graphene for high-performance Li/S batteries. Nano Research, 2019, 12(4): 759-766. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-019-2282-2
Topics:
Doping (additives)GrapheneLithium compoundsMicroporosity Nanosheets

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Received: 28 September 2018
Revised: 10 December 2018
Accepted: 28 December 2018
Published: 22 February 2019
© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019
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