title: Conductive Carbon Network inside a Sulfur-Impregnated Carbon Sponge: A Bioinspired High-Performance Cathode for Li-S Battery.
abstract: A highly conductive sulfur cathode is crucial for improving the kinetic performance of a Li-S battery. The encapsulation of sulfur in porous nanocarbons is expected to benefit the Li(+) migration, yet the e(-) conduction is still to be improved due to a low graphitization degree of a conventional carbon substrate, especially that pyrolyzed from carbohydrates or polymers. Aiming at facilitating the e(-) conduction in the cathode, here we propose to use ketjen black, a highly graphitized nanocarbon building block to form a conductive network for electrons in a biomass-derived, hierarchically porous carbon sponge by a easily scaled-up approach at a low cost. The specifically designed carbon host ensures a high loading and good retention of active sulfur, while also provides a faster electron transmission to benefit the lithiation/delithiation kinetics of sulfur. The sulfur cathode prepared from the carbon network shows excellent cycling and rate performance in a Li-S battery, rendering its practicality for emerging energy storage opportunities such as grids or automobiles.
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors: Xue-Li
authors: XL
authors: Du
authors: Materials Science and Engineering Program & Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin , 1 University Station, C2201, Austin, Texas 78712, United States.
authors: Ya
authors: Y
authors: You
authors: School of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology·Panjin , Panjin 124221, P. R. China.
authors: Yang
authors: Y
authors: Yan
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors: Dawei
authors: D
authors: Zhang
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors: Huai-Ping
authors: HP
authors: Cong
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors: Haili
authors: H
authors: Qin
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors: Chaofeng
authors: C
authors: Zhang
authors: College of Science, Huazhong Agricultural University , Wuhan 430070, P. R. China.
authors: Fei-Fei
authors: FF
authors: Cao
authors: Shenzhen TAFEL New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Dongguan 523795, P. R. China.
authors: Ke-Cheng
authors: KC
authors: Jiang
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.|Materials Science and Engineering Program & Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin , 1 University Station, C2201, Austin, Texas 78712, United States.
authors: Sen
authors: S
authors: Xin
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology , Hefei 230009, P. R. China.
authors: Jian-Bo
authors: JB
authors: He
keywords: electronic conductivity; ketjen black; lithium−sulfur battery; porous carbon; sodium alginate; sulfur cathode