• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.317-323
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• 2006

Electric conductive material should be homogeneously mixed with sulfur in sulfur electrode fabrication of lithium/sulfur battery, because sulfur is electric insulator. In this paper electrochemical properties of Li/S battery was studied with various compositions of sulfur electrodes. When content of sulfur changed from 40 wt.% to 80 wt.%, the 60 wt.% sulfur electrode showed the maximum capacity of 1489 mAh/g-sulfur. Electrochemical properties of Li/S battery using 60 wt.% sulfur was also investigated with various carbon contents. The discharge capacity changed as a function of carbon contents. The optimum composition was 25 wt.% carbon for 60 wt.% sulfur electrode.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.174-179
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• 2011

We investigated the surface morphology changes of a lithium/sulfur battery using multi-walled canbon nanotube added sulfur electrode during charge-discharge cycling. The Li/S cell showed the first discharge capacity of 1286 mAh/g-S, which utilized is 71% of the theoretical value. It decreased to 328 mAh/g-S at the 100th cycle, which corresponds to about 19% utilization of the total sulfur in the cathode. The spherical lumps of the reaction product were observed on the surface of the sulfur electrode. This material was verified as lithium sulfide by X-ray diffraction measurement. The pores in the separator were filled with reaction product. Thus the diffusion of the $Li^+$ ion decreased, which resulted in the decreased capacity of the Li/S cell.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.361-368
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• 2023

In lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, encapsulation of sulfur in activated carbon (AC) materials is a promising strategy for preventing the dissolution of lithium polysulfide into electrolytes and enhancing cycle life, because instead of solid-liquid-solid reactions, quasi-solid-state (QSS) reactions occur in the AC micropores. While a high weight fraction of sulfur in S/AC composites is essential for achieving a high energy density of Li-S cells, the deterioration mechanisms under such conditions are still unclear. In this study, we report the deterioration mechanisms during charge-discharge cycling when the discharge products overflow from the AC. Analysis using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry confirms that the sulfur in the S/AC composites migrates outside the AC as cycling progresses, and it is barely present in the AC after 20 cycles, which corresponds to the capacity decay of the cell. Impedance analysis clearly shows that the electrical resistance of the S/AC composite and the charge-transfer resistance of QSS reactions significantly increase as a result of sulfur migration. On the other hand, the charge-discharge cycling performance under limited-capacity conditions, where the discharge products are encapsulated inside the AC, is extremely stable. These results reveal the degradation mechanism of a Li-S cell with micro-porous carbon and provide crucial insights into the design of a S/AC composite cathode and its operating conditions needed to achieve stable cycling performance.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.110-115
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• 2010

The plasticized polymer electrolytes based on polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (P(VdF-co-HFP)), tetra (ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (TEGDME), and lithium perchlorate ($LiClO_4$) are prepared for the lithium sulfur batteries by solution casting with a doctor-blade. The polymer electrolyte with EO : Li ratio of 16 : 1 shows the maximum ionic conductivity, $6.5\;{\times}\;10^{-4}\;S/cm$ at room temperature. To understand the effect of the salt concentration on the electrochemical performance, the polymer electrolytes are characterized using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), viscometer, and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The optimum concentration and mobility of the charge carriers could lead to enhance the utilization of sulfur active materials and the cyclability of the Li/S unit cell.

• Carbon letters
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.113-116
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• 2014

Due to their morphology, electrochemical stability, and function as a conducting carbon matrix, graphene nanosheets (GNS) have been studied for their potential roles in improving the performance of sulfur cathodes. In this study, a GNS/sulfur (GNS/S) composite was prepared using the infiltration method with organic solvent. The structure, morphology and crystallinity of the composites were examined using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical properties were also characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The CV data revealed that the GNS/S composites exhibited enhanced specific-current density and ~10% higher capacity, in comparison with the S-containing, activated-carbon samples. The composite electrode also showed better cycling performance for multiple charge/discharge cycles. The improvement in the capacity and cycling stability of the GNS/S composite electrode is probably related to the fact that the graphene in the composite improves conductivity and that the graphene is well dispersed in the composites.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.259-269
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• 2002

A battery based on the lithium/elemental sulfur redox couple has the advantage of high theoretical specific capacity of 1,675 mAh/g-sulfur. However, Li/S battery has bad cyclic durability at room temperature due to sulfur active material loss resulting from lithium polysulfide dissolution. To improve the cycle life of Li/S battery, PEGDME (Poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether) 500 containing 1M LiTFSI salt which has high viscosity was used as electrolyte to retard the polysulfide dissolution and nano-sized $Mg_{0.6}Ni_{0.4}O$ was added to sulfur cathode as additive to adsorb soluble polysulfide within sulfur cathode. From experimental results, the improvement of the capacity and cycle life of Li/S battery was observed( maximum discharge capacity : 1,185 mAh/g-sulfur, C50/C1 = 85 % ). Through the charge-discharge test, we knew that PEGDME 500 played a role of preventing incomplete charge-discharge $behavior^{1,2)$. And then, in sulfur dissolution analysis and rate capability test, we first confirmed that nano-sized $Mg_{0.6}Ni_{0.4}O$ had polysulfide adsorbing effect and catalytic effect of promoting the Li/S redox reaction. In addition, from BET surface area analysis, we also verified that it played the part of increasing the porosity of sulfur cathode.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.67-67
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• 1999

• Resources Recycling
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.30-35
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• 2008

Mixed acidophilic bacteria were approached for leaching of cobalt and lithium from wastes of lithium ion battery industries. The growth substrates for the mixed mesophilic bacteria are elemental sulfur and ferrous ion. Bioleaching of the metal was due to the protonic action of sulfate ion on the metals present in the waste. It was investigated that bioleaching of cobalt was faster than lithium. Bacterial action could leach out about 80 % of cobalt and 20 % of lithium from the solid wastes within 12 days of the experimental period. Higher solid/liquid ratio was found to be detrimental for bacterial growth due to the toxic nature of the metals. At high elemental sulfur concentration, the sulfur powder was observed to be in undissolved form and hence the leaching rate also decreased with increase of sulfur amount.

• Carbon letters
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• v.19
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• pp.40-46
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• 2016

Nitrogen-atom doped graphene oxide was considered to prevent the dissolution of polysulfide and to guarantee the enhanced redox reaction of sulfur for good cycle performance of lithium sulfur cells. In this study, we used urea as a nitrogen source due to its low cost and easy preparation. To find the optimum urea content, we tested three different ratios of urea to graphene oxide. The morphology of the composites was examined by field emission scanning electron microscope. Functional groups and bonding characterization were measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electrochemical properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry in an organic electrolyte solution. Compared with thermally reduced graphene/sulfur (S) composite, nitrogen-doped graphene/S composites showed higher electroactivity and more stable capacity retention.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.444-447
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• 2002

The Jig cells are fabricated in the drying room, and consisted of elemental sulfur used as a cathode active material, lithium metal used as a anode material and 1M $LiCF_{3}SO_{3}$ dissolved in TG (Tetraglyme)/DIOX (1,3-Dioxolane) used as a electrolyte. The four kinds of electrolytes with different content of TG and DIOX are prepared. The electrochemical properties of the foregoing electrolytes-based lithium sulfur batteries are analyzed by AC impedance experiments. The conductivity of four different electrolytes is investigated. The conductivity of electrolyte [1M $LiCF_3SO_3$ dissolved in TG/DIOX (50:50, vol.)] is higher than that of other three kinds of electrolytes with different volume ratio (70:30, 30:70) and single solvent (TG).