221
Sulfur Impregnated Expanded Graphene Cathode for High Performance Lithium Sulfur Batteries

Thursday, 2 June 2016: 15:40
Indigo Ballroom A (Hilton San Diego Bayfront)
S. A. Abbas (Research Center for Applied Science,AS, TW, Department of ESS, NTHU, TW), P. C. Wang (Department of ESS, NTHU, TW), and C. W. Chu (Research Center for Applied Science,AS, TW)
Commercialization of high energy lithium sulfur battery (LSB) is hindered by low conductivity of sulfur, dissolution of lithium polysulfide’s in electrolyte and deformation of cathode through volume expansion during charge/discharge phenomenon. In order to address these issues, we present unique one step sulfur impregnated expanded graphene structure (S-EG) by melt diffusion strategy. The hollow structure not only provides a large space for sulfur expansion during cycling, but is also helpful in trapping lithium polysulfides. Moreover, conductive nature of graphene enables higher sulfur utilization. Electrochemical tests disclose that the sample having 64% sulfur content in S:EG(4:1) composite can deliver capacity as high as 1405mAh/g at 0.05C . An ultralow decay of 0.082% per cycle was observed when the battery S:EG(4:1) was run for 1000cycles at 0.25C, which is far superior to pristine sulfur cathode. C-rate tests further confirmed the high retention capability (82%) of sulfur impregnated expanded graphene structure, during the current range of 0.05C to 1C. The versatility of our cathode was also tested by making flexible battery and testing under different stress conditions, hence showing flawless performance, this economical and simple strategy having high sulfur content gives an ideal platform for commercialization of LSB.