Biomass-derived carbon/γ-MnO2 nanorods/S composites prepared by facile procedures with improved performance for Li/S batteries
Autor
Luna-Lama, Fernando
Hernández-Rentero, C.
Caballero Amores, Álvaro
Morales Palomino, Julián
Editor
ElsevierFecha
2018Materia
Biomass-derived carbonManganese dioxide
Composites
Lithium-sulphur batteries
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The promising prospects of the Li/S battery, due to its theoretical energy density of about
2500 Wh kg─1, are severely limited by two main weaknesses: the poor conductivity of S and
the solubility of the polysulphides in the electrolyte. A combination of carbon and transition
metal oxides is the best option for mitigating both of these shortcomings simultaneously. In
this work, we use hydrothermally-tailored γ-MnO2 nanorods combined with an activated
biomass-derived carbon, which is an inexpensive material and easy to prepare. This strategy
was also followed for a AC/MnO2/S composite, a preparation of which was made by
grinding; this is the simplest method for practical applications. More complex procedures for
the formation of in situ hydrothermal MnO2 nanorods gave similar results to those obtained
from grinding. Compared with the AC/S composite, the presence of MnO2 markedly
increased the delivered capacity and improved the cycling stability at both low (0.1 C) and
high (1 C) currents. This behaviour results from a combination of two main effects: firstly,
the MnO2 nanorods increase the electrical conductivity of the electrode, and secondly, the
small particle size of the oxide can enhance the chemisorption properties and facilitate a
redox reaction with polysulphides, more efficiently blocking their dissolution in the
electrolyte.