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Nano Research 2012, 5(10): 726-738 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0257-7
Research Article | Issue | Published: 22 September 2012

A Composite Material of Uniformly Dispersed Sulfur on Reduced Graphene Oxide: Aqueous One-Pot Synthesis, Characterization and Excellent Performance as the Cathode in Rechargeable Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Show Author's Information Hui Sun1,  Gui-Liang Xu2,  Yue-Feng Xu2,  Shi-Gang Sun2( ),  Xinfeng Zhang1,  Yongcai Qiu1,  Shihe Yang1( )
Department of ChemistryThe Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, KowloonHong KongChina
State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid SurfacesDepartment of ChemistryCollege of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringXiamen UniversityXiamenChina
Keywords:
Sulfur, graphene, cathode, Li-S rechargeable battery
Cite this article:
Sun H, Xu G-L, Xu Y-F, et al. A Composite Material of Uniformly Dispersed Sulfur on Reduced Graphene Oxide: Aqueous One-Pot Synthesis, Characterization and Excellent Performance as the Cathode in Rechargeable Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. Nano Research, 2012, 5(10): 726-738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0257-7
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Sulfur-reduced graphene oxide composite (SGC) materials with uniformly dispersed sulfur on reduced graphene oxide sheets have been prepared by a simple aqueous one-pot synthesis method, in which the formation of the composite is achieved through the simultaneous oxidation of sulfide and reduction of graphene oxide. The synthesis process has been tracked ex situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, which both confirm that the majority of graphene oxide has been reduced during the synthesis reaction. The sulfur contents in the SGC, determined by thermogravimetry and elementary analysis, have been adjusted in the range from 20.9 to 72.5 wt.%. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images reveal that most of the sulfur is uniformly dispersed on the reduced graphene oxide sheets, for which no sulfur in particulate form could be observed. The SGC materials have been tested as the cathode of rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, and demonstrated a high reversible capacity and good cycleability. The SGC-63.6%S can deliver a reversible capacity as high as 804 mA·h/g after 80 cycles of charge/discharge at a current density of 312 mA/g (ca. 0.186 C), and 440 mA·h/g after 500 cycles at 1250 mA/g (ca. 0.75 C).


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About this article

A Composite Material of Uniformly Dispersed Sulfur on Reduced Graphene Oxide: Aqueous One-Pot Synthesis, Characterization and Excellent Performance as the Cathode in Rechargeable Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Show Author's information Hui Sun1, Gui-Liang Xu2, Yue-Feng Xu2, Shi-Gang Sun2( ), Xinfeng Zhang1, Yongcai Qiu1, Shihe Yang1( )
Department of ChemistryThe Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, KowloonHong KongChina
State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid SurfacesDepartment of ChemistryCollege of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringXiamen UniversityXiamenChina

Abstract

Sulfur-reduced graphene oxide composite (SGC) materials with uniformly dispersed sulfur on reduced graphene oxide sheets have been prepared by a simple aqueous one-pot synthesis method, in which the formation of the composite is achieved through the simultaneous oxidation of sulfide and reduction of graphene oxide. The synthesis process has been tracked ex situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, which both confirm that the majority of graphene oxide has been reduced during the synthesis reaction. The sulfur contents in the SGC, determined by thermogravimetry and elementary analysis, have been adjusted in the range from 20.9 to 72.5 wt.%. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images reveal that most of the sulfur is uniformly dispersed on the reduced graphene oxide sheets, for which no sulfur in particulate form could be observed. The SGC materials have been tested as the cathode of rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, and demonstrated a high reversible capacity and good cycleability. The SGC-63.6%S can deliver a reversible capacity as high as 804 mA·h/g after 80 cycles of charge/discharge at a current density of 312 mA/g (ca. 0.186 C), and 440 mA·h/g after 500 cycles at 1250 mA/g (ca. 0.75 C).

Keywords: Sulfur, graphene, cathode, Li-S rechargeable battery

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 15 June 2012
Revised: 20 August 2012
Accepted: 31 August 2012
Published: 22 September 2012
Issue date: October 2012

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© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NSFC/HK-RGC Joint Research Scheme (grant number N_HKUST609/09) and NSFC (grant number 20931160426).

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