Sustainable Synthesis of Sulfur-Single Walled Carbon Nanohorns Composite for Long Cycle Life Lithium-Sulfur Battery

Abstract

Lithium–sulfur batteries are considered one of the most appealing technologies for next-generation energy-storage devices. However, the main issues impeding market breakthrough are the insulating property of sulfur and the lithium-polysulfide shuttle effect, which cause premature cell failure. To face this challenge, we employed an easy and sustainable evaporation method enabling the encapsulation of elemental sulfur within carbon nanohorns as hosting material. This synthesis process resulted in a morphology capable of ameliorating the shuttle effect and improving the electrode conductivity. The electrochemical characterization of the sulfur–carbon nanohorns active material revealed a remarkable cycle life of 800 cycles with a stable capacity of 520 mA h/g for the first 400 cycles at C/4, while reaching a value around 300 mAh/g at the 750th cycle. These results suggest sulfur–carbon nanohorn active material as a potential candidate for next-generation battery technology.

Keywords

• lithium–sulfur batteries
• single-walled carbon nanohorns
• long cycle life
• sustainable synthesis process