Suppressed polysulfide crossover in Li−S batteries through a high-flux graphene oxide membrane supported on a sulfur cathode

Mahdokht Shaibani, Abozar Akbari, Phillip Andrew Sheath, Christopher D. Easton, Parama Chakraborty Banerjee, Kristina Konstas, Armaghan Fakhfouri, Marzieh Barghamadi, Mustafa M. Musameh, Adam S. Best, Thomas Ruther, Peter J. Mahon, Matthew R. Hill, Anthony F. Hollenkamp, Mainak Majumder

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

82 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Utilization of permselective membranes holds tremen-dous promise for retention of the electrode-active material in electrochemical devices that suffer from electrode instability issues. In a rechargeable Li−S battery--a strong contender to outperform the Li-ion technologymigration of lithium polysulfides from the sulfur cathode has been linked to rapid capacity fading and lower Coulombic efficiency. However, the current approaches for configuring Li−S cells with permselective membranes suffer from large ohmic polarization, resulting in low capacity and poor rate capability. To overcome these issues, we report the facile fabrication of a high-flux graphene oxide membrane directly onto the sulfur cathode by shear alignment of discotic nematic liquid crystals of graphene oxide (GO). In conjunction with a carbon-coated separator, the highly ordered structure of the thin (∼0.75 µm) membrane and its inherent surface charge retain a majority of the polysulfides, enabling the cells to deliver very high initial discharge capacities of 1063 and 1182 mAh g-1electrode for electrodes with 70 and 80% sulfur content, respectively, at the practical 0.5 C rate. The very high sulfur utilization and impressive capacity retentions of the high sulfur content electrodes result in some of the highest performance metrics in the literature of Li−S (e.g., electrode capacity of 835 mAh g-1electrode after 100 cycles at 0.5 C with a sulfur content of 80%). We show that the structural order of the shear-aligned GO membrane is key in maintaining good kinetics of the charge transfer processes in Li-S batteries.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7768-7779
Number of pages12
JournalACS Nano
Volume10
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jul 2016

Cite this

Shaibani, Mahdokht ; Akbari, Abozar ; Sheath, Phillip Andrew ; Easton, Christopher D. ; Chakraborty Banerjee, Parama ; Konstas, Kristina ; Fakhfouri, Armaghan ; Barghamadi, Marzieh ; Musameh, Mustafa M. ; Best, Adam S. ; Ruther, Thomas ; Mahon, Peter J. ; Hill, Matthew R. ; Hollenkamp, Anthony F. ; Majumder, Mainak. / Suppressed polysulfide crossover in Li−S batteries through a high-flux graphene oxide membrane supported on a sulfur cathode. In: ACS Nano. 2016 ; Vol. 10, No. 8. pp. 7768-7779.
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title = "Suppressed polysulfide crossover in Li−S batteries through a high-flux graphene oxide membrane supported on a sulfur cathode",
abstract = "Utilization of permselective membranes holds tremen-dous promise for retention of the electrode-active material in electrochemical devices that suffer from electrode instability issues. In a rechargeable Li−S battery--a strong contender to outperform the Li-ion technologymigration of lithium polysulfides from the sulfur cathode has been linked to rapid capacity fading and lower Coulombic efficiency. However, the current approaches for configuring Li−S cells with permselective membranes suffer from large ohmic polarization, resulting in low capacity and poor rate capability. To overcome these issues, we report the facile fabrication of a high-flux graphene oxide membrane directly onto the sulfur cathode by shear alignment of discotic nematic liquid crystals of graphene oxide (GO). In conjunction with a carbon-coated separator, the highly ordered structure of the thin (∼0.75 µm) membrane and its inherent surface charge retain a majority of the polysulfides, enabling the cells to deliver very high initial discharge capacities of 1063 and 1182 mAh g-1electrode for electrodes with 70 and 80{\%} sulfur content, respectively, at the practical 0.5 C rate. The very high sulfur utilization and impressive capacity retentions of the high sulfur content electrodes result in some of the highest performance metrics in the literature of Li−S (e.g., electrode capacity of 835 mAh g-1electrode after 100 cycles at 0.5 C with a sulfur content of 80{\%}). We show that the structural order of the shear-aligned GO membrane is key in maintaining good kinetics of the charge transfer processes in Li-S batteries.",
author = "Mahdokht Shaibani and Abozar Akbari and Sheath, {Phillip Andrew} and Easton, {Christopher D.} and {Chakraborty Banerjee}, Parama and Kristina Konstas and Armaghan Fakhfouri and Marzieh Barghamadi and Musameh, {Mustafa M.} and Best, {Adam S.} and Thomas Ruther and Mahon, {Peter J.} and Hill, {Matthew R.} and Hollenkamp, {Anthony F.} and Mainak Majumder",
year = "2016",
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Shaibani, M, Akbari, A, Sheath, PA, Easton, CD, Chakraborty Banerjee, P, Konstas, K, Fakhfouri, A, Barghamadi, M, Musameh, MM, Best, AS, Ruther, T, Mahon, PJ, Hill, MR, Hollenkamp, AF & Majumder, M 2016, 'Suppressed polysulfide crossover in Li−S batteries through a high-flux graphene oxide membrane supported on a sulfur cathode', ACS Nano, vol. 10, no. 8, pp. 7768-7779. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b03285

Suppressed polysulfide crossover in Li−S batteries through a high-flux graphene oxide membrane supported on a sulfur cathode. / Shaibani, Mahdokht; Akbari, Abozar; Sheath, Phillip Andrew; Easton, Christopher D.; Chakraborty Banerjee, Parama; Konstas, Kristina; Fakhfouri, Armaghan; Barghamadi, Marzieh; Musameh, Mustafa M.; Best, Adam S.; Ruther, Thomas; Mahon, Peter J.; Hill, Matthew R.; Hollenkamp, Anthony F.; Majumder, Mainak.

In: ACS Nano, Vol. 10, No. 8, 11.07.2016, p. 7768-7779.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Suppressed polysulfide crossover in Li−S batteries through a high-flux graphene oxide membrane supported on a sulfur cathode

AU - Shaibani, Mahdokht

AU - Akbari, Abozar

AU - Sheath, Phillip Andrew

AU - Easton, Christopher D.

AU - Chakraborty Banerjee, Parama

AU - Konstas, Kristina

AU - Fakhfouri, Armaghan

AU - Barghamadi, Marzieh

AU - Musameh, Mustafa M.

AU - Best, Adam S.

AU - Ruther, Thomas

AU - Mahon, Peter J.

AU - Hill, Matthew R.

AU - Hollenkamp, Anthony F.

AU - Majumder, Mainak

PY - 2016/7/11

Y1 - 2016/7/11

N2 - Utilization of permselective membranes holds tremen-dous promise for retention of the electrode-active material in electrochemical devices that suffer from electrode instability issues. In a rechargeable Li−S battery--a strong contender to outperform the Li-ion technologymigration of lithium polysulfides from the sulfur cathode has been linked to rapid capacity fading and lower Coulombic efficiency. However, the current approaches for configuring Li−S cells with permselective membranes suffer from large ohmic polarization, resulting in low capacity and poor rate capability. To overcome these issues, we report the facile fabrication of a high-flux graphene oxide membrane directly onto the sulfur cathode by shear alignment of discotic nematic liquid crystals of graphene oxide (GO). In conjunction with a carbon-coated separator, the highly ordered structure of the thin (∼0.75 µm) membrane and its inherent surface charge retain a majority of the polysulfides, enabling the cells to deliver very high initial discharge capacities of 1063 and 1182 mAh g-1electrode for electrodes with 70 and 80% sulfur content, respectively, at the practical 0.5 C rate. The very high sulfur utilization and impressive capacity retentions of the high sulfur content electrodes result in some of the highest performance metrics in the literature of Li−S (e.g., electrode capacity of 835 mAh g-1electrode after 100 cycles at 0.5 C with a sulfur content of 80%). We show that the structural order of the shear-aligned GO membrane is key in maintaining good kinetics of the charge transfer processes in Li-S batteries.

AB - Utilization of permselective membranes holds tremen-dous promise for retention of the electrode-active material in electrochemical devices that suffer from electrode instability issues. In a rechargeable Li−S battery--a strong contender to outperform the Li-ion technologymigration of lithium polysulfides from the sulfur cathode has been linked to rapid capacity fading and lower Coulombic efficiency. However, the current approaches for configuring Li−S cells with permselective membranes suffer from large ohmic polarization, resulting in low capacity and poor rate capability. To overcome these issues, we report the facile fabrication of a high-flux graphene oxide membrane directly onto the sulfur cathode by shear alignment of discotic nematic liquid crystals of graphene oxide (GO). In conjunction with a carbon-coated separator, the highly ordered structure of the thin (∼0.75 µm) membrane and its inherent surface charge retain a majority of the polysulfides, enabling the cells to deliver very high initial discharge capacities of 1063 and 1182 mAh g-1electrode for electrodes with 70 and 80% sulfur content, respectively, at the practical 0.5 C rate. The very high sulfur utilization and impressive capacity retentions of the high sulfur content electrodes result in some of the highest performance metrics in the literature of Li−S (e.g., electrode capacity of 835 mAh g-1electrode after 100 cycles at 0.5 C with a sulfur content of 80%). We show that the structural order of the shear-aligned GO membrane is key in maintaining good kinetics of the charge transfer processes in Li-S batteries.

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DO - 10.1021/acsnano.6b03285

M3 - Article

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JF - ACS Nano

SN - 1936-0851

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Shaibani M, Akbari A, Sheath PA, Easton CD, Chakraborty Banerjee P, Konstas K et al. Suppressed polysulfide crossover in Li−S batteries through a high-flux graphene oxide membrane supported on a sulfur cathode. ACS Nano. 2016 Jul 11;10(8):7768-7779. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6b03285

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