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Li M, Huang X, Su CC, Amine K. Concerted Formation of Reversibly Precipitated Sulfur Species and Its Importance for Lean Electrolyte Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:23182-23193. [PMID: 39110853 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c05000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2024]
Abstract
Achieving high energy densities for lithium-sulfur batteries remain elusive. Largely limited by the volume of electrolyte used, lean electrolyte conditions (electrolyte/sulfur mass ratio <3) present enormous challenges that have led to very poor specific capacity and rate performance. Previous studies have identified that the high concentration of polysulfide is responsible for the poor discharge voltage. However, there still lacks sufficient understanding of the processes occurring at lean electrolyte conditions. In this work we uncovered a polysulfide concentration regulating mechanism that operates through the precipitation and redissolution of solid sulfur-based species (reversibly precipitated sulfur species, RPSS). This occurs in a concerted manner in a global sense through the cathode and can be measured using impedance spectroscopy. It was found that the more RPSS that is formed, the higher the energy density of discharge. We propose that high concentration of polysulfide tends to supersaturate, which impeded the formation of RPSS. Employing an electrolyte with low Li ion concentration along with using poorly dissociating lithium salts allowed for more RPSS formation and ultimately enabled discharge at >2.0 V at 0.05 C, at E/S = 2.5, and at room temperature without the use of an engineered cathode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Li
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Xiaozhou Huang
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Chi Cheung Su
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Khalil Amine
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
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Chen J, Fu Y, Guo J. Development of Electrolytes under Lean Condition in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2401263. [PMID: 38678376 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202401263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries stand out as one of the promising candidates for next-generation electrochemical energy storage technologies. A key requirement to realize high-specific-energy Li-S batteries is to implement low amount of electrolyte, often characterized by the electrolyte/sulfur (E/S) ratio. Low E/S ratio aggravates the known challenges for Li-S batteries and introduces new ones originated from the high concentration of polysulfides in limited electrolyte reservoir. In this review, the connections between the fundamental properties of electrolytes and the electrochemical/chemical reactions in Li-S batteries under lean electrolyte condition are elucidated. The emphasis is on how the solvating properties of the electrolyte affect the fate of polysulfides. Built upon the mechanistic analysis, different strategies to design lean electrolytes to improve the overall process of Li-S reactions and Li anode protection are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianjun Chen
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Yuqing Fu
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Juchen Guo
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
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Liu X, Guo Q, Li Y, Ma Y, Ma X, Liu P, Duan D, Zhang Z, Zhou X, Liu S. "Wane and wax" strategy: Enhanced evolution kinetics of liquid phase Li 2S 4 to Li 2S via mutually embedded CNT sponge/Ni-porous carbon electrocatalysts. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 649:481-491. [PMID: 37356149 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
The lithium-sulfur battery (Li-S) has been considered a promising energy storage system, however, in the practical application of Li-S batteries, considerable challenges remain. One challenge is the low kinetics involved in the conversion of Li2S4 to Li2S. Here, we reveal that highly dispersed Ni nanoparticles play a unique role in the reduction of Li2S4. Ni-porous carbon (Ni-PC) decorated in situ on a free-standing carbon nanotube sponge (CNTS/Ni-PC) enriches the current response of liquid phase Li2S4 and Li2S2 around the cathode more than 8.1 and 5.7 times higher than that of the CNTS blank sample, respectively, greatly boosting the kinetics and decreasing the reaction overpotential of Li2S4 reduction (lower Tafel slope and larger current response). Thus, with the same total overpotential, more space is provided for the concentration difference overpotential, allowing the more soluble polysulfide intermediates farther away from the surface of the conductive materials to be reduced based on the "wane and wax" strategy, and significantly improving the sulfur utilization. Consequently, S@CNTS/Ni-PC delivers excellent rate performance (812.4 mAh·g-1 at 2C) and a remarkable areal capacity of 10.1 mAh·cm-2. This work provides a viable strategy for designing a target catalyst to enhance the conversion kinetics in the Li2S4 reduction process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiao Liu
- College of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
| | - Qian Guo
- College of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
| | - Yu Li
- College of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
| | - Yue Ma
- College of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
| | - Xiaotao Ma
- Shandong Haihua Group Company Limited, Weifang 262737, PR China
| | - Panpan Liu
- Department of Energy Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Energy, Jinzhong 030600, PR China
| | - Donghong Duan
- College of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
| | - Zhonglin Zhang
- College of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
| | - Xianxian Zhou
- College of Chemistry, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
| | - Shibin Liu
- College of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China
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Lee BJ, Zhao C, Yu JH, Kang TH, Park HY, Kang J, Jung Y, Liu X, Li T, Xu W, Zuo XB, Xu GL, Amine K, Yu JS. Development of high-energy non-aqueous lithium-sulfur batteries via redox-active interlayer strategy. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4629. [PMID: 35941110 PMCID: PMC9360432 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31943-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Lithium-sulfur batteries have theoretical specific energy higher than state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. However, from a practical perspective, these batteries exhibit poor cycle life and low energy content owing to the polysulfides shuttling during cycling. To tackle these issues, researchers proposed the use of redox-inactive protective layers between the sulfur-containing cathode and lithium metal anode. However, these interlayers provide additional weight to the cell, thus, decreasing the practical specific energy. Here, we report the development and testing of redox-active interlayers consisting of sulfur-impregnated polar ordered mesoporous silica. Differently from redox-inactive interlayers, these redox-active interlayers enable the electrochemical reactivation of the soluble polysulfides, protect the lithium metal electrode from detrimental reactions via silica-polysulfide polar-polar interactions and increase the cell capacity. Indeed, when tested in a non-aqueous Li-S coin cell configuration, the use of the interlayer enables an initial discharge capacity of about 8.5 mAh cm−2 (for a total sulfur mass loading of 10 mg cm−2) and a discharge capacity retention of about 64 % after 700 cycles at 335 mA g−1 and 25 °C. Lithium-sulfur batteries promise high energy density, but polysulfide shuttling acts as a major stumbling block toward practical development. Here, a redox-active interlayer is proposed to confine polysulfides, increase the cell capacity and improve cell cycle life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byong-June Lee
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST), Daegu, 42988, Republic of Korea
| | - Chen Zhao
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL, 60439, US
| | - Jeong-Hoon Yu
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST), Daegu, 42988, Republic of Korea
| | - Tong-Hyun Kang
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST), Daegu, 42988, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyean-Yeol Park
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST), Daegu, 42988, Republic of Korea
| | - Joonhee Kang
- Department of Nanoenergy Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea
| | - Yongju Jung
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH), Cheonan, 330-708, Republic of Korea
| | - Xiang Liu
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL, 60439, US
| | - Tianyi Li
- X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL, 60439, US
| | - Wenqian Xu
- X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL, 60439, US
| | - Xiao-Bing Zuo
- X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL, 60439, US
| | - Gui-Liang Xu
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL, 60439, US.
| | - Khalil Amine
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL, 60439, US. .,Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. .,Materials Science, Energy and Nano-engineering Department, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco.
| | - Jong-Sung Yu
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST), Daegu, 42988, Republic of Korea. .,Energy Science and Engineering Research Center, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, Republic of Korea.
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Leonet O, Doñoro Á, Fernández-Barquín A, Kvasha A, Urdampilleta I, Blázquez JA. Understanding of Crucial Factors for Improving the Energy Density of Lithium-Sulfur Pouch Cells. Front Chem 2022; 10:888750. [PMID: 35586266 PMCID: PMC9108244 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.888750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rechargeable lithium−sulfur (Li−S) batteries are the most promising next-generation energy storage system owing to their high energy density and low cost. Despite the increasing number of publications on the Li-S technology, the number of studies on real prototype cells is rather low. Furthermore, novel concepts developed using small lab cells cannot simply be transferred to high-energy cell prototypes due to the fundamental differences. The electrolyte and lithium anode excess used in small lab cells is known to have a huge impact on the cycle life, capacity, and rate capability of the Li-S system. This work analyses the performance of pouch cell prototypes demonstrating the potential and hurdles of the technology. The impact of electrolyte variations and the sulfur cathode loading are studied. The energy density of Li-S pouch cell is improved up to 436 Wh kg−1 by a combination of different approaches related to cell manufacturing, sulfur cathode optimization, and electrolyte amount adjustment.
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