Biomass-derived Activated Carbon for Rechargeable Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
Min Liu,
Yong Chen,
Ke Chen,
Na Zhang,
Xiaoqin Zhao,
Fenghui Zhao,
Zhifeng Dou,
Xiangming He,
Li Wang
Affiliations
Min Liu
Laboratory of Tropic Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Advanced Materials in Tropical Island Resources, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan University; China
Yong Chen
Laboratory of Tropic Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Advanced Materials in Tropical Island Resources, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan University; China
Ke Chen
Laboratory of Tropic Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Advanced Materials in Tropical Island Resources, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan University; China
Na Zhang
Laboratory of Tropic Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Advanced Materials in Tropical Island Resources, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan University; China
Xiaoqin Zhao
Laboratory of Tropic Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Advanced Materials in Tropical Island Resources, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan University; China
Fenghui Zhao
Laboratory of Tropic Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Advanced Materials in Tropical Island Resources, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan University; China
Zhifeng Dou
Laboratory of Tropic Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Advanced Materials in Tropical Island Resources, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan University; China
Xiangming He
Institute of Nuclear& New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University; China
Li Wang
Institute of Nuclear& New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University; China
High-surface-area activated carbon (HSAAC) was synthesized by carbonizing coconut shells and subsequently activating the material with KOH. The as-prepared HSAAC had a mostly microporous structure (with small mesoporous inclusions) and exhibited a high specific surface area of 2258.7 m2g-1 and an average pore size of 2.246 nm. Sulfur was then loaded into the activated carbon (AC), and this S/HSAAC (62 wt%) was used as a cathode for Li-S batteries. These batteries delivered an initial discharge capacity of 1233 mAhg-1 at a current density of 200 mAg-1. Due to the strong absorption force of the micropores and a high pore volume, the cells retained 929 mAhg-1 with 80% capacity retention of the initial discharge after 100 cycles. Considering its low cost and ability to be produced at a large-scale, biomass-derived HSAAC is a promising electrode material that may advance high-energy rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries toward use in practical applications.
