Sulfur nanocomposite as a positive electrode material for rechargeable potassium–sulfur batteries

Liu, Yu; Wang, Weigang; Wang, Jing; Zhang, Yi; Zhu, Yusong; Chen, Yuhui; Fu, Lijun; Wu, Yuping

doi:10.1039/c7cc09913d

Cited by 94 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The bonding between carbon and sulfur atoms is revealed by examining the wavenumber region below 1000 cm −1 . There are distinct peaks at 165, 390, and 799 cm −1 that are ascribed to covalent CS bonding . Raman peaks owing to CS stretch/deformation modes at 161, 378, 798 cm −1 were characterized previously .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 72%

Sulfur‐Grafted Hollow Carbon Spheres for Potassium‐Ion Battery Anodes

et al. 2019

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Sulfur‐rich carbons are minimally explored for potassium‐ion batteries (KIBs). Here, a large amount of S (38 wt%) is chemically incorporated into a carbon host, creating sulfur‐grafted hollow carbon spheres (SHCS) for KIB anodes. The SHCS architecture provides a combination of nanoscale (≈40 nm) diffusion distances and CS chemical bonding to minimize cycling capacity decay and Coulombic efficiency (CE) loss. The SHCS exhibit a reversible capacity of 581 mAh g−1 (at 0.025 A g−1), which is the highest reversible capacity reported for any carbon‐based KIB anode. Electrochemical analysis of S‐free carbon spheres baseline demonstrates that both the carbon matrix and the sulfur species are highly electrochemically active. SHCS also show excellent rate capability, achieving 202, 160, and 110 mAh g−1 at 1.5, 3, and 5 A g−1, respectively. The electrode maintains 93% of the capacity from the 5th to 1000th cycle at 3 A g−1, with steady‐state CE being near 100%. Raman analysis indicates reversible breakage of CS and SS bonds upon potassiation to 0.01 V versus K/K+. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) analysis provides voltage‐dependent K+ diffusion coefficients that range from 10−10 to 10−12 cm2 s−1 upon potassiation and depotassiation, with approximately five times higher coefficient for the former.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 72%

Sulfur‐Grafted Hollow Carbon Spheres for Potassium‐Ion Battery Anodes

et al. 2019

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“…Potassium metal is currently being developed as a new member of the metal–sulfur battery family, adopting the mature technology from lithium–sulfur research and the rapid progress made in sodium–sulfur cells (Figure ) . The high abundance of potassium in Earth's crust and in the ocean reduces production and transport costs of the raw materials (Figure e) . Potassium metal has a lower standard reduction potential (−2.93 vs SHE) than other metallic elements beyond lithium.…”

Section: Metal–sulfur Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, applying potassium as the anode material in a potassium–sulfur cell should offer high specific capacity and energy density (Figure f–h) . Therefore, although in the infancy stage, the investigation and development of potassium–sulfur batteries is in high demand in order to understand the technology's feasibility …”

Section: Metal–sulfur Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After that, limited follow‐up work was reported until 2017 and 2018 due to the severe intrinsic challenges brought about by the use of the potassium‐metal anode and the sulfur cathode, such as high cathode resistance, fast active‐material loss, and electrochemical instability (Table ) . In order to address these challenges, current research has mainly focused on confining sulfur within the porous carbon host and bonding sulfur as sulfur‐polyacrylonitrile compounds . There two methods have been deeply studied in lithium–sulfur research, demonstrating the ability to provide facile transport of electrons and ions in the cathode and a strong ability to chemically trap sulfur species for improved stability and reactivity …”

Section: Metal–sulfur Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Current Status and Future Prospects of Metal–Sulfur Batteries

Chung¹,

Manthiram²

2019

Advanced Materials

496

415

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that makes use of intercalation materials as the electrodes (Figure 1), applications involving electric vehicles and smart grids may require rechargeable batteries with new battery chemistries that can generate even higher energy densities for longer driving ranges and higher energy-storage capabilities. [6][7][8] Additionally, the lithiated transition-metal oxides used in commercial lithium-ion battery cathodes tend to be expensive, scarce, or toxic to the environment. Thus, it is desirable to explore new electrode materials that are naturally abundant (and therefore less expensive) as well as environmentally compatible in order to successfully enter the future battery markets. [6,[8][9][10][11] This driving force has promoted the development of batteries with conversionreaction electrodes, in which reversible electrochemical reactions take place and new chemical compounds form during the cycling of the battery. Naturally abundant materials, such as sulfur for the cathode, can be applied as electrodes. Different metallic anodes have shown great potential in coupling with sulfur cathode to generate a high energy density, including lithium metal [3,10,[12][13][14][15][16][17]31] as well as other alkali [18][19][20][21][22][23][24]31] and high-valent metals. [18,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] As a next-generation energy-storage technology beyond lithium-ion batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries are the most promising low-cost, high-capacity energy-storage device available due to their high charge-storage capacity, low cost, and the wide availability of sulfur. [32][33][34][35] The electrochemical reactions of lithium-sulfur batteries involve reversible conversions between sulfur (S 8 ), lithium polysulfides (Li 2 S x , x = 4-8), and lithium sulfides (Li 2 S 2 and Li 2 S). [33][34][35][36] The conversions between sulfur and lithium polysulfides and lithium sulfides involve phase changes between liquid-state polysulfides and solid-state sulfur and sulfides. [35][36][37][38][39][40] Thus, the conversion reaction of lithium-sulfur battery chemistry has no restriction in maintaining the initial crystal chemistry of the electrode during electrochemical cycling. [39][40][41][42] Therefore, a full twoelectron redox reaction per sulfur atom can occur in a manner that is both reversible and stable, increasing the chargestorage capacity drastically as compared to the currently used insertion-reaction oxide cathodes. [7,[39][40][41][42] As a result, sulfur cathodes possess a high theoretical charge-storage capacity of 1672 mA h g −1 , which is the highest value among solid-state Lithium-sulfur batteries are a major focus of academic and industrial energystorage research due to their high theoretical energy density and the use of low-cost materials. The high energy density results from the conversion mechanism that lithium-sulfur cells utilize. The sulfur cathode, being naturally abundant and environmentally friendly, makes lithium-sulfur batteries a potential next-generation energy-storage technology. The current state of the rese...

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“…With an organic liquid electrolyte, this composite cathode possessed an oxidation peak at ≈2.2 V and two reduction peaks at ≈2.1 and 1.8 V, giving the discharge product K 2 S 3 and charge products S and K metal. In another work, a mixture of sulfur and PAN was heated to prepare SPAN cathode, showing that the sulfur species can be covalently bound to PAN in these K–S batteries . In this case, a decent cycling stability (54% capacity retention after 200 cycles) and good rate performance were achieved with this material, although its actual capacity was relatively low (270 mAh g −1 calculated based on the weight of the SPAN composite), possibly due to the sluggish reaction kinetics associated with the large ionic size of potassium.…”

Section: Sulfur Batteries With K Mg Ca and Al Anodesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Nonlithium Metal–Sulfur Batteries: Steps Toward a Leap

et al. 2018

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progress in battery technology has been primarily driven by the specific demands of various applications. In the current era, a higher gravimetric/volumetric energy density is still an ever-growing requirement to power mobile electronics and extend the driving range of electric vehicles (EVs) with increased energy consumption. Meanwhile, the exploration and utilization of the various forms of renewable energy, such as wind, tidal, and solar energy, which are normally harvested as electricity but fluctuate greatly over time, require them to be stored, regulated, and then delivered for practical application. [1,2] As a result, these two issues impose high urgency and great necessity on the development of suitable battery systems to meet these demands, in particular, energy density, safety, and cost effectiveness. [3][4][5] At this stage, the most successfully commercialized secondary batteries are the LIBs, which have been widely applied in a variety of devices, including mobile phones, power tools, and electric vehicles. In an LIB, electricity is stored and released based on the reversible insertion-extraction of Li ions in the electrode materials. [6] The second-generation LIBs, which are based on layered LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 (NMC) or LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 (NCA) cathode materials and graphite anode materials, normally have practical gravimetric/volumetric energy densities as high as 180-220 Wh kg −1 and have been applied in the latest electric vehicles (e.g., the Tesla Model S car) (Figure 1). Present mobile devices, transportation tools, and renewable energy technologies are more dependent on newly developed battery chemistries than ever before. Intrinsic properties, such as safety, high energy density, and cheapness, are the main objectives of rechargeable batteries that have driven their overall technological progress over the past several decades. Unfortunately, it is extremely hard to achieve all these merits simultaneously at present. Alternatively, exploration of the most suitable batteries to meet the specific requirements of an individual application tends to be a more reasonable and easier choice now and in the near future. Based on this concept, here, a range of promising alternatives to lithium-sulfur batteries that are constructed with non-Li metal anodes (e.g., Na, K, Mg, Ca, and Al) and sulfur cathodes are discussed. The systems governed by these new chemistries offer high versatility in meeting the specific requirements of various applications, which is directly linked with the broad choice in battery chemistries, materials, and systems. Herein, the operating principles, materials, and remaining issues for each targeted battery characteristics are comprehensively reviewed. By doing so, it is hoped that their design strategies are illustrated and light is shed on the future exploration of new metal-sulfur batteries and advanced materials. Metal-Sulfur BatteriesThe ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.

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Sulfur nanocomposite as a positive electrode material for rechargeable potassium–sulfur batteries

Cited by 94 publications

References 37 publications

Sulfur‐Grafted Hollow Carbon Spheres for Potassium‐Ion Battery Anodes

Sulfur‐Grafted Hollow Carbon Spheres for Potassium‐Ion Battery Anodes

Current Status and Future Prospects of Metal–Sulfur Batteries

Nonlithium Metal–Sulfur Batteries: Steps Toward a Leap

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