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A novel battery scheme: Coupling nanostructured phosphorus anodes with lithium sulfide cathodes

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Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries are approaching their theoretical limit and can no longer keep up with the increasing demands of human society. Lithium-sulfur batteries, with a high theoretical specific energy, are promising candidates for next generation energy storage. However, the use of Li metal in Li-S batteries compromises both safety and performance, enabling dendrite formation and causing fast capacity degradation. Previous studies have probed alternative battery systems to replace the metallic Li in Li-S system, such as a Si/Li2S couple, with limited success in performance. Recently, there is a focus on red P as a favorable anode material to host Li. Here, we establish a novel battery scheme by utilizing a P/C nanocomposite anode and pairing it with a Li2S coated carbon nanofiber cathode. We find that red P anode can be compatible in ether-based electrolyte systems and can be successfully coupled to a Li2S cathode. Our proof of concept full-cell displays remarkable specific capacity, rate and cycling performances. We expect our work will provide a useful alternative system and valuable insight in the quest for next generation energy storage devices.

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Acknowledgements

Y. C. acknowledges the support from the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy, under the Battery Materials Research program and the Battery 500 Consortium program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA

    David Sichen Wu, Guangmin Zhou, Bofei Liu, Jiangyan Wang, Feifei Shi & Yi Cui

  2. Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Eryang Mao & Yongming Sun

  3. Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Li Wang

  4. Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California, 94025, USA

    Yi Cui

Authors
  1. David Sichen Wu
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  2. Guangmin Zhou
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  3. Eryang Mao
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  4. Yongming Sun
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  5. Bofei Liu
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  6. Li Wang
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  7. Jiangyan Wang
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  8. Feifei Shi
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  9. Yi Cui
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Correspondence to Yongming Sun or Yi Cui.

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Wu, D.S., Zhou, G., Mao, E. et al. A novel battery scheme: Coupling nanostructured phosphorus anodes with lithium sulfide cathodes. Nano Res. 13, 1383–1388 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2645-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2645-8

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