High Specific Capacity of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries with Carbon Black/Chitosan- and Carbon Black/Polyvinylidene Fluoride-Coated Separators

Abstract

In this research, the shuttle effect and the low sulfur activation of lithium–sulfur batteries were mitigated by coating the cathode side of Celgard 2400 separators with mixtures of carbon black/chitosan or carbon black/polyvinylidene fluoride using the simple slurry technique. Carbon nanoparticles and the polar groups of the polymers were responsible for boosting the reaction kinetics of sulfur and the chemical and physical trapping of lithium polysulfides. The adsorption of sulfur species in the coated separators was confirmed by the morphologic changes observed in the AFM and SEM images and by the new elements presented in the EDX spectra after 100 charge/discharge cycles. The high intensity of the peaks in the cyclic voltammograms and the long plateaus in the discharge profiles support the improvement in the reaction kinetics. The batteries with the carbon black/chitosan- and carbon black/polyvinylidene fluoride-coated separators reached high specific discharge capacities of 833 and 698 mAhg−1, respectively, after 100 cycles at 0.5 C. This is promising for this kind of technology, and detailed results are presented in the article.