Low-Temperature Synthesis of a Sulfur-Polyacrylonitrile Composite Cathode for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

PÁEZ JEREZ, ANA L.; CHEMES, DOLY M.; SHAM, EDGARDO L.; DAVIES, LILIAN E.; TESIO, ALVARO Y.; FLEXER, VICTORIA

ChemistrySelect

Wiley-Blackwell

Año: 2020 vol. 5 p. 5465 - 5472

Through a novel synthesis process, a novel sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) composite, noted as DH-150-300-SPAN, was prepared and tested as cathode material for lithium sulfur (Li@S) batteries. The reported process involves two heatingsteps at low temperature. The first plateau at 150°C melts elemental sulfur, while the second, at 300°C, produces the cycling of polyacrylonitrile, and incorporates sulfur to the cyclic polymeric structure. A fully morphological and electrochemical characterization was carried out. The SPAN composite contains(38.3 : 0.2) % S. Li@S batteries assembled using these cathodes have shown good performance, reaching high and stable capacity values, above 1000 mAhg-1S after 150 cycles at 0.1 C.This is the first time that stable cycling is achieved for a SPAN composite synthesized at such low temperatures and for short heating treatments. Our work describes an easy route to prepare a promising candidate for cathode material of Li@S batteries by using a low-cost process and low-cost materials.