Institute of Physics and Chemistry: Making significant progress in the research field of high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

As a positive electrode material for lithium ion batteries, the high theoretical capacity of sulfur (1675 mahg) has attracted great attention. However, sulfur has the disadvantages of non-conductivity, the intermediate product polysulfide lithium is dissolved in the electrolyte, and the volume expansion is severe. These problems make the large-scale application of lithium-sulfur batteries face many challenges, including safety, rate performance, and cycle stability.

In order to overcome these problems, the Functional Polymer Materials Research Center of the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new method for in situ preparation and loading of sulfur in a three-dimensional porous carbon (3 dpgc) structure. Under the premise of maintaining nanodispersion, the loading reaches 90%, the highest load record of sulfur was created, and the initial specific capacity of the electrode was as high as 1382 mahg-1; the in-situ loading of sulfur also formed a carbon-sulfur bond, which significantly improved the charge and discharge cycle stability of the electrode material after 1000 cycles. After that, the average capacity decay per cycle is only 0.039%, achieving the current highest cycle stability. Therefore, while improving the loading and utilization efficiency of sulfur, this material also improves the charge-discharge cycle stability of the electrode material 3 ds@pgc, and opens up new ideas for the design of the electrode material of the new-generation lithium-ion battery.

The relevant research results were published in the international top journal Nature Communication (NatureCommunications2016 7 10601). Subsequently, Professor Rodney Ruoff, an internationally renowned carbon material scientist, and Professor Ji Xing, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wrote a highlight article (ActaPhys.Chim.Sin.2016, 32797) in the Journal of Physical Chemistry to evaluate the innovation of the above research results.

This research work has received strong support from the “Hundred Talents Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation.

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