title: Sulfur Embedded in a Mesoporous Carbon Nanotube Network as a Binder-Free Electrode for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.
abstract: Sulfur-porous carbon nanotube (S-PCNT) composites are proposed as cathode materials for advanced lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Abundant mesopores are introduced to superaligned carbon nanotubes (SACNTs) through controlled oxidation in air to obtain porous carbon nanotubes (PCNTs). Compared to original SACNTs, improved dispersive behavior, enhanced conductivity, and higher mechanical strength are demonstrated in PCNTs. Meanwhile, high flexibility and sufficient intertube interaction are preserved in PCNTs to support binder-free and flexible electrodes. Additionally, several attractive features, including high surface area and abundant adsorption points on tubes, are introduced, which allow high sulfur loading, provide dual protection to sulfur cathode materials, and consequently alleviate the capacity fade especially during slow charge/discharge processes. When used as cathodes for Li-S batteries, a high sulfur loading of 60 wt % is achieved, with excellent reversible capacities of 866 and 526 mAh g(-1) based on the weights of sulfur and electrode, respectively, after 100 cycles at a slow charge/discharge rate of 0.1C, revealing efficient suppression of polysulfide dissolution. Even with a high sulfur loading of 70 wt %, the S-PCNT composite maintains capacities of 760 and 528 mAh g(-1) based on the weights of sulfur and electrode, respectively, after 100 cycles at 0.1C, outperforming the current state-of-the-art sulfur cathodes. Improved high-rate capability is also delivered by the S-PCNT composites, revealing their potentials as high-performance carbon-sulfur composite cathodes for Li-S batteries.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences , 100083 Beijing, China.|Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Datao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yufeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Weibang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Kaili
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Qunqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences , 100083 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yihe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jiaping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Shoushan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
keywords: binder-free; carbon nanotube; carbon−sulfur cathodes; lithium−sulfur batteries; mesoporous