Fabrication of dense 1-D carbon assembly via spray drying method for lithium-sulfur battery

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) is regarded as one of the most promising next generations of rechargeable battery technology with high theoretical capacity of 1675 mAh.g-1. However, it suffers from poor cyclability due to the intrinsic insulating properties of sulfur and the polysulfide shuttling phenomenon. Interwoven 1-D carbon materials have been utilized as the conductive host to improve contact resistance, while suppressing polysulfide dissolution with cohesive force. However, conventional slurry casting process loosely interconnect 1-D carbon materials which lowers the density of the final electrode and reduces its effectiveness. In this study, we utilized the spray drying method to fabricate a tightly packed microsphere from 1-D carbon building blocks to prepare a highly stable electrode with high areal capacity. Our facile strategy presents a meaningful opportunity for the development of practical Li-S batteries.