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Nano Research 2018, 11(6): 3340-3352 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1929-0
Research Article | Issue | Published: 22 May 2018

Functional interlayer of PVDF-HFP and carbon nanofiber for long-life lithium-sulfur batteries

Show Author's Information Anyi Zhang1,§,  Xin Fang1,§,  Chenfei Shen1,  Yihang Liu2,  In Gi Seo1,  Yuqiang Ma3,  Liang Chen2,  Patrick Cottingham4,  Chongwu Zhou2( )
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials ScienceUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical EngineeringUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA
Department of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA
Department of ChemistryUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA

§ Anyi Zhang and Xin Fang contributed equally in this work.

Keywords:
lithium-sulfur batteries, carbon nanofiber, poly(vinylidene fluorideco-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), gel polymer electrolyte, conductive network
Cite this article:
Zhang A, Fang X, Shen C, et al. Functional interlayer of PVDF-HFP and carbon nanofiber for long-life lithium-sulfur batteries. Nano Research, 2018, 11(6): 3340-3352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1929-0
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

In the present work, we develop a scalable and inexpensive design for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries by capping a flexible gel polymer/carbon nanofiber (CNF)composite membrane onto a free-standing and binder-free CNF + Li2S6 cathode, thus achieving a three-dimensional (3D) structural design. The CNF network is used as the current collector and S holder to overcome the insulating nature and volume expansion of S, while the composite membrane comprises a gel polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), and CNF additive is used as an interlayer to trap polysulfides and recycle the remaining S species, leading to a high specific capacity and long cycle life. This 3D structure enables excellent cyclability for 500 cycles at 0.5 ℃ with a small capacity decay of 0.092% per cycle. Furthermore, an outstanding cycle stability was also achieved at even higher current densities (1.0 to 2.0 ℃), indicating its good potential for practical applications of Li-S batteries.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Functional interlayer of PVDF-HFP and carbon nanofiber for long-life lithium-sulfur batteries

Show Author's information Anyi Zhang1,§, Xin Fang1,§, Chenfei Shen1, Yihang Liu2, In Gi Seo1, Yuqiang Ma3, Liang Chen2, Patrick Cottingham4, Chongwu Zhou2( )
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials ScienceUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical EngineeringUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA
Department of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA
Department of ChemistryUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia90089USA

§ Anyi Zhang and Xin Fang contributed equally in this work.

Abstract

In the present work, we develop a scalable and inexpensive design for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries by capping a flexible gel polymer/carbon nanofiber (CNF)composite membrane onto a free-standing and binder-free CNF + Li2S6 cathode, thus achieving a three-dimensional (3D) structural design. The CNF network is used as the current collector and S holder to overcome the insulating nature and volume expansion of S, while the composite membrane comprises a gel polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), and CNF additive is used as an interlayer to trap polysulfides and recycle the remaining S species, leading to a high specific capacity and long cycle life. This 3D structure enables excellent cyclability for 500 cycles at 0.5 ℃ with a small capacity decay of 0.092% per cycle. Furthermore, an outstanding cycle stability was also achieved at even higher current densities (1.0 to 2.0 ℃), indicating its good potential for practical applications of Li-S batteries.

Keywords: lithium-sulfur batteries, carbon nanofiber, poly(vinylidene fluorideco-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), gel polymer electrolyte, conductive network

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 18 September 2017
Revised: 08 November 2017
Accepted: 20 November 2017
Published: 22 May 2018
Issue date: June 2018

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2017

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The SEM images used in this article were generated at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Southern California. The EIS data used in this article was collected in Dr. Stephen Cronin's lab. The BET data used in this article was collected in Dr. Richard L. Brutchey's lab.

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