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Nano Research 2017, 10(6): 2083-2095 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1397-y
Research Article | Issue | Published: 26 January 2017

Ordered SnO nanoparticles in MWCNT as a functional host material for high-rate lithium-sulfur battery cathode

Show Author's Information A-Young Kim1,2,  Min Kyu Kim1,  Ji Young Kim1,  Yuren Wen3,  Lin Gu3,  Van-Duong Dao4,  Ho-Suk Choi4,  Dongjin Byun2,  Joong Kee Lee1( )
Center for Energy ConvergenceKorea Institute of Science and TechnologySeoul02792Republic of Korea
Department of Material Science and EngineeringKorea UniversitySeoul02841Republic of Korea
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics Institute of PhysicsChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190China
Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied ChemistryChungnam National UniversityDaejeon34134Republic of Korea
Keywords:
lithium-sulfur battery, cathode, high loading, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), hybrid nanomaterial, ordered tin monoxide
Cite this article:
Kim A-Y, Kim MK, Kim JY, et al. Ordered SnO nanoparticles in MWCNT as a functional host material for high-rate lithium-sulfur battery cathode. Nano Research, 2017, 10(6): 2083-2095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1397-y
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Lithium-sulfur battery has become one of the most promising candidates for next generation batteries, and it is still restricted due to the low sulfur conductivity, large volume expansion and severe polysulfide shuttling. Herein, we present a novel hybrid electrode with a ternary nanomaterial based on sulfur-impregnated multiwalled carbon nanotubes filled with ordered tin-monoxide nanoparticles (MWCNT-SnO/S). Using a dry plasma reduction method, a mechanically robust material is prepared as a cathode host material for lithium-sulfur batteries. The MWCNT-SnO/S electrode exhibits high conductivity, good ability to capture polysulfides, and small volume change during a repeated charge–discharge process. In situ transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet–visible absorption results indicate that the MWCNT-SnO host efficiently suppresses volume expansion during lithiation and reduces polysulfide dissolution into the electrolyte. Furthermore, the ordered SnO nanoparticles in the MWCNTs facilitate fast ion/electron transfer during the redox reactions by acting as connective links between the walls of the MWCNTs. The MWCNT-SnO/S cathode with a high sulfur content of 70 wt.% exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 1, 682.4 mAh·g–1 at 167.5 mA·g–1 (0.1 C rate) and retains a capacity of 530.1 mAh·g–1 at 0.5 C after 1, 000 cycles with nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency. Furthermore, the electrode exhibits the high capacity even at a high current rate of 20 C.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Ordered SnO nanoparticles in MWCNT as a functional host material for high-rate lithium-sulfur battery cathode

Show Author's information A-Young Kim1,2, Min Kyu Kim1, Ji Young Kim1, Yuren Wen3, Lin Gu3, Van-Duong Dao4, Ho-Suk Choi4, Dongjin Byun2, Joong Kee Lee1( )
Center for Energy ConvergenceKorea Institute of Science and TechnologySeoul02792Republic of Korea
Department of Material Science and EngineeringKorea UniversitySeoul02841Republic of Korea
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics Institute of PhysicsChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190China
Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied ChemistryChungnam National UniversityDaejeon34134Republic of Korea

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur battery has become one of the most promising candidates for next generation batteries, and it is still restricted due to the low sulfur conductivity, large volume expansion and severe polysulfide shuttling. Herein, we present a novel hybrid electrode with a ternary nanomaterial based on sulfur-impregnated multiwalled carbon nanotubes filled with ordered tin-monoxide nanoparticles (MWCNT-SnO/S). Using a dry plasma reduction method, a mechanically robust material is prepared as a cathode host material for lithium-sulfur batteries. The MWCNT-SnO/S electrode exhibits high conductivity, good ability to capture polysulfides, and small volume change during a repeated charge–discharge process. In situ transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet–visible absorption results indicate that the MWCNT-SnO host efficiently suppresses volume expansion during lithiation and reduces polysulfide dissolution into the electrolyte. Furthermore, the ordered SnO nanoparticles in the MWCNTs facilitate fast ion/electron transfer during the redox reactions by acting as connective links between the walls of the MWCNTs. The MWCNT-SnO/S cathode with a high sulfur content of 70 wt.% exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 1, 682.4 mAh·g–1 at 167.5 mA·g–1 (0.1 C rate) and retains a capacity of 530.1 mAh·g–1 at 0.5 C after 1, 000 cycles with nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency. Furthermore, the electrode exhibits the high capacity even at a high current rate of 20 C.

Keywords: lithium-sulfur battery, cathode, high loading, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), hybrid nanomaterial, ordered tin monoxide

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 19 October 2016
Revised: 25 November 2016
Accepted: 28 November 2016
Published: 26 January 2017
Issue date: June 2017

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by KIST institutional program (No. 2E27061). This work was also supported by research grants of NRF funded by the National Research Foundation under the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future, Republic of Korea (No. NRF- 2015H1D3A1036078).

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