Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “sulfur composite cathode”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

The Role of Metal Oxides in Li-S Batteries: A High-Areal-Capacity Sulfur Composite Cathode Investigation

Compared to lithium-ion batteries (LIB), lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have low cost and high theoretical specific energy (2510 Wh/kg or about 10 times of the LIB). However, Li-S batteries have several challenges, including large volume expansion, poor utilization of the end products, sluggish kinetics of polysulfides, and crossover, so-called the "shuttle effect". To address these issues, we have introduced metal oxides to the Li-S electrode to develop a metal-oxide-sulfur composite electrode. We aim to use metal oxides to assist the Li-S formation (dissociation) during discharge (charge) cycles. We elect to focus on LIB-based metal oxides to ensure that the added material can contribute storage capacity to the battery. Our cathodes are fabricated by both the conventional slurry casting and air-controlled electrospray. LIB electrode materials, such as Li(Ni 0.6 Mn 0.6 Co 0.2 )O 2 , LiMn 2 O 4 , Li 2 TiO 3 , etc, were incorporated with the sulfur-carbon composite and their charge-discharge performances are compared. We found that the presence of metal oxides increased sulfur utilization with stable cycling performance, even in cells with high areal capacities. To unveil the interactions between lithium metal oxides and sulfur, the cathodes were analyzed by various characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and electrochemistry. The analysis of the role of the oxides will be presented along with the reaction mechanism.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Defect Control in the Synthesis of 2 D MoS 2 Nanosheets: Polysulfide Trapping in Composite Sulfur Cathodes for Li–S Batteries

One of the inherent challenges with Li–S batteries is polysulfide dissolution, in which soluble polysulfide species can contribute to the active material loss from the cathode and undergo shuttling reactions inhibiting the ability to effectively charge the battery. Prior theoretical studies have proposed the possible benefit of defective 2 D MoS 2 materials as polysulfide trapping agents. Herein the synthesis and thorough characterization of hydrothermally prepared MoS 2 nanosheets that vary in layer number, morphology, lateral size, and defect content are reported. Here, the materials were incorporated into composite sulfur–based cathodes and studied in Li–S batteries with environmentally benign ether–based electrolytes. Through directed synthesis of the MoS 2 additive, the relationship between synthetically induced defects in 2 D MoS 2 materials and resultant electrochemistry was elucidated and described.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2017

A stable graphite electrode in superconcentrated LiTFSI-DME/DOL electrolyte and its application in lithium-sulfur full battery

Graphical abstract: In superconcentrated ether-based solutions, the formed SEI film inhibits electrolyte decomposition and graphite exfoliation caused by co-intercalation of solvents. Thus, reversible lithium intercalation and de-intercalation at a graphite electrode has been realized. - Highlights: • Prelithiated graphite anodes are coupled with sulfur composite cathodes to form a Li–S full cell in superconcentrated LiTFSI-DME/DO electrolyte. • The introduced superconcentrated ether-based electrolyte permits reversible lithium intercalation and de-intercalation at a graphite electrode. • The assembled Li–S full battery exhibits better cycle performance and coulombic efficiencies. - Abstract: Herein, prelithiated graphite anodes are coupled with sulfur composite cathodes to form a Li–S full cell in superconcentrated ether electrolyte. This novel system is effective in avoiding sever corrosion of Li-metal anode and significantly improving the safety of present Li–S cell, owing to the replacement of Li-metal anode with graphite. The introduced superconcentrated ether electrolyte has a unique networking structure of Li cations and TFSI anions with Li{sup +}-solvating DME/DOL solvents, which is conducive to form a stable TFSI-derived surface film on the graphite electrode. The stable and dense TFSI-derived film inhibits further electrolyte decomposition and graphite exfoliation caused by co-intercalation of solvents, allowing reversible lithium intercalation and de-intercalation at a graphite electrode. Besides, the severe polysulfides shuttle is also suppressed by the concentrated ether-based solutions. Consequently, the assembled graphite-sulfur full battery retains outstanding capacity of 686 mAh g{sup −1}{sub sulfur} at 0.1C rate after 105 cycles, along with high Coulombic efficiency.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Interfacial reaction dependent performance of hollow carbon nanosphere - sulfur composite as a cathode for Li-S battery

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is a promising energy storage system due to its high energy density, cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness of sulfur. However, there are still a number of challenges, such as low Coulombic efficiency and poor long-term cycling stability, impeding the commercialization of Li-S battery. The electrochemical performance of Li-S battery is closely related with the interfacial reactions occurring between hosting substrate and active sulfur species which are poorly conducting at fully oxidized and reduced states. Here, we correlate the relationship between the performance and interfacial reactions in the Li-S battery system, using a hollow carbon nanosphere (HCNS) with highly graphitic character as hosting substrate for sulfur. With an appropriate amount of sulfur loading, HCNS/S composite exhibits excellent electrochemical performance because of the fast interfacial reactions between HCNS and the polysulfides. However, further increase of sulfur loading leads to increased formation of highly resistive insoluble reaction products (Li 2 S 2 /Li 2 S) which limits the reversibility of the interfacial reactions and results in poor electrochemical performance. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate the importance of the interfacial reaction reversibility in the whole electrode system on achieving high capacity and long cycle life of sulfur cathode for Li-S batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Strong Lithium Polysulfide Chemisorption on Electroactive Sites of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Composites For High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Battery Cathodes

Despite the high theoretical capacity of lithium–sulfur batteries, their practical applications are severely hindered by a fast capacity decay, stemming from the dissolution and diffusion of lithium polysulfides in the electrolyte. A novel functional carbon composite (carbon-nanotube-interpenetrated mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres, MNCS/CNT), which can strongly adsorb lithium polysulfides, is now reported to act as a sulfur host. The nitrogen functional groups of this composite enable the effective trapping of lithium polysulfides on electroactive sites within the cathode, leading to a much improved electrochemical performance (1200 mAh g -1 after 200 cycles). The enhancement in adsorption can be attributed to the chemical bonding of lithium ions by nitrogen functional groups in the MNCS/CNT framework. Furthermore, the micrometer-sized spherical structure of the material yields a high areal capacity (ca. 6 mAh cm -2 ) with a high sulfur loading of approximately 5 mg cm -2 , which is ideal for practical applications of the lithium–sulfur batteries.

carbon materials↗
DOE OSTI2022

Stable all-solid-state sodium-sulfur batteries for low-temperature operation enabled by sodium alloy anode and confined sulfur cathode

All-solid-state sodium-sulfur (Na-S) batteries are promising for stationary energy storage devices because of their low operating temperatures (less than 100 °C), improved safety, and low-cost fabrication. Using Na alloy instead of Na metal as an anode in Na-S batteries can prevent dendrite growth and improve interfacial stability between the anode and solid electrolytes to achieve long-cycling stability. A high-sulfur content cathode possessing high sulfur utilization is also important to enable an energy-dense Na-S battery. In this work, we studied Na-Sb and Na- Sn alloy anodes and demonstrated the superiority of Na 3 Sb alloy undergoing a stable Na alloying/dealloying process at 0.04 mA cm -2 for over 500 hours. Combining the optimized Na3Sb alloy anode with sulfur-carbon composites prepared by the vapor deposition approach, the full cell shows a high sulfur specific capacity and improved rate performance. Moreover, the all-solid-state Na alloy-S battery can deliver a high initial discharge specific capacity of 1377 mAh g -1 and maintain good capacity retention of 70 % after 180 cycles at 60 °C. Further, post-cycle characterizations show that both the anode and cathode perform a reversible discharge/charge process after the 1st cycle, and the cathode undergoes significantly rearranged distributions of carbon and solid-state electrolytes after 180 cycles due to severe volume change induced by repeated sodiation/desodiation process.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Developing Materials for High-Energy-Density Solid State Li-S Batteries

Solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries are considered to be the next-generation power source for vehicle applications due to their high energy density (up to 3 times more than current Li-ion) and low cost of sulfur (100 times less than conventional cobalt oxide). However, issues with solid-state electrolyte stability, conduction pathways in the sulfur cathode, and the interface between solid-state electrolyte and sulfur cathode must be solved in order to allow commercialization. This project demonstrates the creation of new, advanced materials which overcome these inherent issues. Current approaches based on polymer or liquid electrolyte with additives have been able to improve stability at the cost of efficiency. In contrast, by creating new hybrid materials it is possible to achieve both stability and efficiency. We developed a novel sulfide-based solid electrolyte, a sulfur-carbon composite cathode, and explored various additives to stabilize the interface of solid electrolyte and cathode. After the desired properties were achieved, these materials were integrated into a high-performance solid-state battery, bringing low-cost high-energy solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries one step closer to reality.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Final Scientific/Technical Report/DE-EE0006832

Lithium-sulfur batteries utilize a lithium metal anode and a sulfur-carbon composite cathode electrode. They are promising due to their theoretical high energy and power density. However in practice they suffer of relatively short lifetimes due to rapid degradation of the battery components. This project aimed to develop a better understanding of the issues and possible solutions that could result in an improvement of the performances of the lithium-sulfur batteries. In particular, the project focused on developing a better understanding of the mechanisms of battery discharge and charge, and of the chemistry taking place during these events. An integrated theoretical-experimental approach was utilized, where atomistic simulations informed about the microscopic behavior of the system, intermediate time and length scales were investigated with mesoscopic models, and experiments were carried out focusing on the synthesis and characterization of the cathode materials as well as buildup and tests of the complete electrochemical cell. This combined theoretical-experimental strategy saves costs by utilizing predictions from computational analyses to guide experimentation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2018

First-principles calculations of oxidation potentials of electrolytes in lithium–sulfur batteries and their variations with changes in environment

In this work, oxidation potentials of electrolyte molecules in Li–sulfur (Li/S) batteries and their variations in various solvent environments are investigated using first-principles calculations in order to understand oxidative decomposition reactions of electrolytes for cathode passivation. Electrolyte solvents, Li salts, and various additives in Li/S batteries along with some Li-ion battery additives are studied. Oxidation potentials of isolated electrolyte molecules are found to be out of the operating range of typical Li/S batteries. The complexation of electrolyte molecules with Li + , salt anion, salt, S8, and pyrene alters oxidation potentials compared to those of the isolated systems. The salt anion lowers oxidation potentials of electrolyte molecules by at least 4.7% while the complexes with Li + have higher oxidation potentials than the isolated molecules by at least 10.4%. S8 and pyrene, used as model compounds for sulfur and sulfur/ carbon composite cathode materials, also affect oxidation potentials of electrolyte molecules, but their influence is negligible and the oxidation trends differ from those of the Li + and salt anion. Although complexations change the oxidation potentials of electrolyte molecules, they are still higher than the operating voltage range of Li/S batteries, which indicates that oxidation of the studied electrolytes in Li/S batteries is not expected under ambient conditions.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Sulfur-carbon nanocomposites and their application as cathode materials in lithium-sulfur batteries

The invention is directed in a first aspect to a sulfur-carbon composite material comprising: (i) a bimodal porous carbon component containing therein a first mode of pores which are mesopores, and a second mode of pores which are micropores; and (ii) elemental sulfur contained in at least a portion of said micropores. The invention is also directed to the aforesaid sulfur-carbon composite as a layer on a current collector material; a lithium ion battery containing the sulfur-carbon composite in a cathode therein; as well as a method for preparing the sulfur-composite material.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Sulfur-carbon nanocomposites and their application as cathode materials in lithium-sulfur batteries

The invention is directed in a first aspect to a sulfur-carbon composite material comprising: (i) a bimodal porous carbon component containing therein a first mode of pores which are mesopores, and a second mode of pores which are micropores; and (ii) elemental sulfur contained in at least a portion of said micropores. The invention is also directed to the aforesaid sulfur-carbon composite as a layer on a current collector material; a lithium ion battery containing the sulfur-carbon composite in a cathode therein; as well as a method for preparing the sulfur-composite material.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of commercial activated carbons in sulfur cathodes on the electrochemical properties of lithium/sulfur batteries

Highlights: • The sulfur/activated carbon composite is fabricated using commercial activated carbons. • The sulfur/activated carbon composite with coal shows the best performance. • The Li/S battery has capacities of 1240 mAh g{sup −1} at 1 C and 567 mAh g{sup −1} at 10 C. - Abstract: We prepared sulfur/active carbon composites via a simple solution-based process using the following commercial activated carbon-based materials: coal, coconut shells, and sawdust. Although elemental sulfur was not detected in any of the sulfur/activated carbon composites based on Thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results confirmed its presence in the activated carbon. These results indicate that sulfur was successfully impregnated in the activated carbon and that all of the activated carbons acted as sulfur reservoirs. The sulfur/activated carbon composite cathode using coal exhibited the highest discharge capacity and best rate capability. The first discharge capacity at 1 C (1.672 A g{sup −1}) was 1240 mAh g{sup −1}, and a large reversible capacity of 567 mAh g{sup −1} was observed at 10 C (16.72 A g{sup −1}).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Liquid Sulfur Impregnation of Microporous Carbon Accelerated by Nanoscale Interfacial Effects

Impregnation of porous carbon matrices with liquid sulfur has been exploited to fabricate composite cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries, aimed at confining soluble sulfur species near conducting carbon to prevent both loss of active material into the electrolyte and parasitic reactions at the lithium metal anode. Here, through extensive computer simulations, we uncover the strongly favorable interfacial free energy between liquid sulfur and graphitic surfaces that underlies this phenomenon. Previously unexplored curvature-dependent enhancements are shown to favor the filling of smaller pores first and effect a quasi-liquid sulfur phase in microporous domains (diameters <2 nm) that persists ~30° below the expected freezing point. Evidence of interfacial sulfur on carbon is shown to be a 0.3 eV red shift in the simulated and measured interfacial X-ray absorption spectra. Our results elucidate the critical morphology and thermodynamic properties necessary for future cathode design and highlight the importance of molecular-scale details in defining emergent properties of functional nanoscale interfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗