Superior Cycling Performance of Sulfurized Polyacrylonitrile Cathode Assembled with <i>In Situ</i> Polymerized Gel Polymer Electrolyte

Abstract

Sulfurized polyacrylonitrile was well known for its excellent electrochemical performance. In this work, a kind of gel polymer electrolyte with PMMA as polymer matrix was prepared through in situ thermal initiated polymerization in this work. The interactions between polymer and traditional carbonate electrolyte were studied by IR. Its electrochemical performance in Li/SPAN batteries was investigated in detail, using LSV, CV, EIS et al. The results show that high ionic conductivity was achieved, with a value of 4.2 mS cm-1 at 30◦C when the content of PMMA was 15%. A reversible capacity of 975.3 mAh g-1 could be maintained after 50 cycles.

Perspective of polymer-based solid-state Li-S batteries

“…The first discharge plateau disappears when using SPAN in the cell, which is related to the solid to solid reaction and the absence of solubilized long chain PS in the electrolyte, leading to a very stable performance and high specific capacity [81,82] . In the work of Liu et al [83] , SPAN was prepared by heating sulfur powder and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) at 300 °C under an argon atmosphere and this material was coupled with a QSSPE to obtain long cycling and a high capacity (~550 mAh g -1 in the first cycle and 500 mAh g -1 after 180 cycles) at 50 °C [Figure 3B]. Since this work, many studies have been developed in order to improve its performance [84] .…”

“…(B) Electrochemical performance of SPAN-based cathode material at 50 °C using a LE or GPE at different C-rates and long cycles. Reproduced from Ref [83]. with permission.…”