title: Layer-by-Layer Assembled Architecture of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers and Graphene Sheets on Hollow Carbon Spheres/Sulfur Composite for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.
abstract: In the present work, polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) and graphene sheets are applied to sequentially coat on the surface of hollow carbon spheres/sulfur composite by a flexible layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly strategy. Owing to the strong electrostatic interactions between the opposite charged materials, the coating agents are very stable and the coating procedure is highly efficient. The LBL film shows prominent impact on the stability of the cathode by acting as not only a basic physical barrier, and more importantly, an ion-permselective film to block the polysulfides anions by Coulombic repulsion. Furthermore, the graphene sheets can help to stabilize the polyelectrolytes film and greatly reduce the inner resistance of the electrode by changing the transport of the electrons from a "point-to-point" mode to a more effective "plane-to-point'' mode. On the basis of the synergistic effect of the PEMs and graphene sheets, the fabricated composite electrode exhibits very stable cycling stability for over 200 cycles at 1 A g(-1), along with a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99%. With the advantages of rapid and controllable fabrication of the LBL coating film, the multifunctional architecture developed in this study should inspire the design of other lithium-sulfur cathodes with unique physical and chemical properties.
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Electric Vehicles in Beijing , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Electric Vehicles in Beijing , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yuefeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Electric Vehicles in Beijing , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Electrophotonic Conversion Materials, School of Chemistry, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Lai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Electric Vehicles in Beijing , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Electric Vehicles in Beijing , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Renjie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Electric Vehicles in Beijing , Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bao
keywords: coating; graphene; layer-by-layer; lithium−sulfur batteries; polyelectrolyte