Acacia Senegal–Inspired Bifunctional Binder for Longevity of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries |
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| Authors: | Gaoran Li Min Ling Yifan Ye Zhoupeng Li Jinghua Guo Yingfang Yao Junfa Zhu Zhan Lin Shanqing Zhang |
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| Institution: | 1. Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;2. Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Environmental Futures Research Institute and Griffith School of Environment, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, QLD, Australia;3. National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China;4. Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA;5. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA;6. Eco‐Materials and Renewable Energy Research Center, Department of Physics, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China |
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| Abstract: | The sulfur cathode in traditional lithium–sulfur batteries suffers from poor cyclability due to polysulfide shuttling effect as well as large volume change during charge/discharge processes. Gum arabic (GA), a low cost, nontoxic, and sustainable natural polymer from Acacia senegal, is adopted as a binder for the sulfur cathode to address these issues. The excellent mechanical properties of GA endow the cathode with high binding strength and suitable ductility to buffer volume change, while the functional groups chemically and physically confine sulfur species within the cathode to inhibit the shuttling effect of polysulfides. Additionally, GA shifts the electrode fabrication process from the organic solvent process to an aqueous process, eliminates the use of toxic organic solvents, and achieves uniformly distributed electrode with lower impedance. A remarkable cycling performance, i.e., 841 mAh g?1 at low current rate of C/5, is achieved throughout 500 cycles due to the bifunctions of the GA binder. |
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| Keywords: | aqueous processes bifunctional materials chemical bonding gum arabic binders lithium sulfur batteries |
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