Development of advanced energy-storage systems for portable devices, electric vehicles, and grid storage must fulfill several requirements: low-cost, long life, acceptable safety, high energy, high power, and environmental benignity. With these requirements, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries promise great potential to be the next-generation high-energy system. However, the practicality of Li-S technology is hindered by technical obstacles, such as short shelf and cycle life and low sulfur content/loading, arising from the shuttling of polysulfide intermediates between the cathode and anode and the poor electronic conductivity of S and the discharge product Li2 S. Much progress has been made during the past five years to circumvent these problems by employing sulfur-carbon or sulfur-polymer composite cathodes, novel cell configurations, and lithium-metal anode stabilization. This Progress Report highlights recent developments with special attention toward innovation in sulfur-encapsulation techniques, development of novel materials, and cell-component design. The scientific understanding and engineering concerns are discussed at the end in every developmental stage. The critical research directions needed and the remaining challenges to be addressed are summarized in the Conclusion.

Lithium–Sulfur Batteries: Progress and Prospects

Sulfur is a promising cathode material for lithium-sulfur batteries because of its high theoretical capacity (1,675 mA h g(-1)); however, its low electrical conductivity and the instability of sulfur-based electrodes limit its practical application. Here we report a facile in situ method for preparing three-dimensional porous graphitic carbon composites containing sulfur nanoparticles (3D S@PGC). With this strategy, the sulfur content of the composites can be tuned to a high level (up to 90 wt%). Because of the high sulfur content, the nanoscale distribution of the sulfur particles, and the covalent bonding between the sulfur and the PGC, the developed 3D S@PGC cathodes exhibit excellent performance, with a high sulfur utilization, high specific capacity (1,382, 1,242 and 1,115 mA h g(-1) at 0.5, 1 and 2 C, respectively), long cycling life (small capacity decay of 0.039% per cycle over 1,000 cycles at 2 C) and excellent rate capability at a high charge/discharge current.

/pdf/three-dimensional-porous-carbon-composites-containing-high-k1g58j39xi.pdf

Three-dimensional porous carbon composites containing high sulfur nanoparticle content for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

High-energy consumption in our day-to-day life can be balanced not only by harvesting pollution-free renewable energy sources, but also requires proper storage and distribution of energy. In this regard, lithium ion batteries are currently considered as effective energy storage devices and involve the most active research. There exist several review articles dealing with various sections of LIBs, such as the anode, the cathode, electrolytes, electrode–electrolyte interface etc. However, the anode is considered to be a crucial component affecting the performance of LIBs as evident from the tremendous amount of current research work carried out in this area. In the last few years, advancements have been focused more on the fabrication of the nanostructured anode owing to its special properties, such as high surface area, short Li+ ion diffusion path length, high electron transportation rate etc. As the work in this area is growing very fast, the present review paper deliberates the recent developments of anode materials on the nanoscale. Different types of anode materials, such as carbon-based materials, alloys, Si-based materials, transition metal oxides, and transition metal chalcogenides, with their unique physical and electrochemical properties, are discussed. Various approaches to designing materials in the form of 0, 1 and 2D nanostructures and their effect of size and morphology on their performance as anode materials in LIBs are reviewed. Moreover, the article emphasizes smart approaches for making core–shell particles, nanoheterostructures, nanocomposites or nanohybrids with the combination of electrochemically active materials and conductive carbonaceous or electrochemically inactive materials to achieve LIBs with high capacity, high rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. We believe the review paper will provide an update for the reader regarding recent progress on nanostructured anode materials for LIBs.

Nanostructured anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Novel porous ZnO/ZnFe2O4/C octahedra with hollow interiors are fabricated by a facile self-sacrificing template method involving the refluxing synthesis of hollow, metal-organic framework octahedra in solution and subsequent thermal annealing in N2  When evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, these porous hollow ZnO/ZnFe2O4/C octahedra exhibit significantly enhanced electrochemical performances with high rate capability, high capacity, and excellent cycling stability

MOF‐Derived Porous ZnO/ZnFe2O4/C Octahedra with Hollow Interiors for High‐Rate Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Electrochemical energy storage devices are becoming increasingly more important for reducing fossil fuel energy consumption in transportation and for the widespread deployment of intermittent renewable energy. The applications of different energy storage devices in specific situations are all primarily reliant on the electrode materials, especially carbon materials. Biomass-derived carbon materials are receiving extensive attention as electrode materials for energy storage devices because of their tunable physical/chemical properties, environmental concern, and economic value. In this review, recent developments in the biomass-derived carbon materials and the properties controlling the mechanism behind their operation are presented and discussed. Moreover, progress on the applications of biomass-derived carbon materials as electrodes for energy storage devices is summarized, including electrochemical capacitors, lithium–sulfur batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and sodium-ion batteries. The effects of the pore structure, surface properties, and graphitic degree on the electrochemical performance are discussed in detail, which will guide further rational design of the biomass-derived carbon materials for energy storage devices.

Biomass derived carbon for energy storage devices

To eliminate capacity-fading effects due to the loss of sulfur cathode materials as a result of polysulfide dissolution in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) cells, 3D carbon aerogel (CA) materials with abundant narrow micropores can be utilized as an immobilizer host for sulfur impregnation. The effects of S incorporation on microstructure, surface area, pore size distribution, and pore volume of the S/CA hybrids are studied. The electrochemical performance of the S/CA hybrids is investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, galvanostatical charge–discharge, and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The 3D porous S/CA hybrids exhibit significantly improved reversible capacity, high-rate capability, and excellent cycling performance as a cathode electrode for Li–S batteries. The S/CA hybrid with an optimal incorporating content of 27% S shows an excellent reversible capacity of 820 mAhg−1 after 50 cycles at a current density of 100 mAg−1. Even at a current density of 3.2C (5280 mAg−1), the reversible capacity of 27%S/CA hybrid can still maintain at 521 mAhg−1 after 50 cycles. This strategy for the S/CA hybrids as cathode materials to utilize the abundant micropores for sulfur immobilizers for sulfur impregnation for Li–S battery offers a new way to solve the long-term reversibility obstacle and provides guidelines for designing cathode electrode architectures.

3D Interconnected Porous Carbon Aerogels as Sulfur Immobilizers for Sulfur Impregnation for Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries with High Rate Capability and Cycling Stability

To improve the electrochemical performance of spinel ZnMn2O4, i.e., its limited specific capacity, cycling performance, and rate properties, owing to its inherent poor electrical conductivity and large volume changes during lithiation and delithiation processes, spinel ZnMn2O4 nanocrystals are anchored into a three dimensional (3D) porous carbon aerogel (CA) through a facile solution immersion chemical route. The designed 3D spinel ZnMn2O4/CA hybrids display the advantages of both spinel ZnMn2O4 and porous CA: enormous interfacial surface area, connected 3D framework, abundant porosity and high electron transport properties of CA, and electrochemical properties of nanostructured spinel ZnMn2O4 oxide materials. The synthesized novel ZnMn2O4/CA hybrids display a significantly improved electrochemical performance, with a high reversible specific capacity, and high-rate capability, as well as an excellent cycling performance, superior to that of previously reported ZnMn2O4-based materials. After 50 cycles, the 50% ZnMn2O4/CA hybrid displays a reversible capacity of 833 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 100 mAg(-1), much higher than the theoretical capacity of 784 mAh g(-1) for pure spinel ZnMn2O4 materials, corresponding to a Coulombic efficiency of 99.9%. The greatly improved cycle stability, specific capacity, and high rate performance of the ZnMn2O4/CA hybrids can be attributed to the synergistic interaction between spinel-structured ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles and the 3D interconnected porous CA matrix.

Spinel ZnMn2O4 Nanocrystal‐Anchored 3D Hierarchical Carbon Aerogel Hybrids as Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

A facile hydrothermal and sol–gel polymerization route was developed for large-scale fabrication of well-designed Co3O4 nanoparticles anchored carbon aerogel (CA) architecture hybrids as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries with improved electrochemical properties. The three-dimensional (3D) mesoporous Co3O4/CA hierarchical hybrids display an improved lithium storage performance and cycling stability, because of the intimate integration and strong synergistic effects between the Co3O4 nanoparticles and CA matrices. Such an interconnected Co3O4/CA hierarchical hybrid can effectively utilize the good conductivity, large surface area, 3D interconnected mesoporous structure, mechanical flexibility, chemical stability, and the short length of Li-ion transport of the CA matrix. The incorporation of Co3O4 nanoparticles into the interconnected CA matrix effectively reduces the number of active sites of Co3O4/CA hybrids, thus greatly increasing the reversible specific capacity and the initial Coulombic effici...

Co3O4/Carbon Aerogel Hybrids as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Enhanced Electrochemical Properties

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Fengbin Hao

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

3D Interconnected Porous Carbon Aerogels as Sulfur Immobilizers for Sulfur Impregnation for Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries with High Rate Capability and Cycling Stability

Spinel ZnMn2O4 Nanocrystal‐Anchored 3D Hierarchical Carbon Aerogel Hybrids as Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Co3O4/Carbon Aerogel Hybrids as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Enhanced Electrochemical Properties