Three-Dimensionally Aligned Sulfur Electrodes by Directional Freeze Tape Casting

作者：Yoon Hwa, Eongyu Yi, Hao Shen, Younghun Sung, Jiawei Kou, Kai Chen, Dilworth Y. Parkinson, Marca M. Doeff, Elton J. Cairns · 发表于：Nano Letters · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b01805 · 被引用次数：33 · 研究领域：Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies、Thermal Expansion and Ionic Conductivity、Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

Rational design of sulfur electrodes is exceptionally important in enabling a high-performance lithium/sulfur cell. Constructing a continuous pore structure of the sulfur electrode that enables facile lithium ion transport into the electrode and mitigates the reconstruction of sulfur is a key factor for enhancing the electrochemical performance. Here, we report a three-dimensionally (3D) aligned sulfur electrode cast onto conventional aluminum foil by directional freeze tape casting. The 3D aligned sulfur-graphene oxide (S-GO) electrode consisting of few micron thick S-GO layers with 10-20 μm interlayer spacings demonstrates significant improvement in the performance of the Li/S cell. Moreover, the freeze tape cast graphene oxide electrode exhibits homogeneous reconfiguration behavior in the polysulfide catholyte cell tests and demonstrated extended cycling capability with only 4% decay of the specific capacity over 200 cycles. This work emphasizes the critical importance of proper structural design for sulfur-carbonaceous composite electrodes.