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Synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride at different thermal-pyrolysis temperature of urea and it application in lithium–sulfur batteries

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Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was produced by the direct thermal-pyrolysis of urea at different temperatures without additive assistance. The physical properties of porous g-C3N4 were characterized by various measurement methods: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ay photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effect of thermal-pyrolysis temperature on electrochemical behaviors of was researched as the sulfur matrices in lithium–sulfur batteries. The g-C3N4 prepared at 550 °C with sulfur matrix exhibits the superior electrochemical performances. As the result, the sulfur/CN-550 composite cathode exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 1262.1 mAh g−1 and delivers a specific capacity of 605.4 mAh g−1 over 500 cycles at 0.39 mA cm−2. The excellent electrochemical behavior of the g-C3N4 could be ascribed to the effective utilization of sulfur and the combination of polysulfides dissolution through physical and chemical interactions to achieve long-term circulation of the composite cathode in lithium–sulfur batteries.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51504101, 51874146), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20150514), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 2017M621640, 2018T110551), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Provincial Higher Education of China (Grant No. 15KJB430006), the Start-up Foundation of Jiangsu University for Senior Talents (Grant No. 15JDG014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Advanced Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212313, People’s Republic of China

    Shanshan Yao, Sikang Xue, Sihuang Peng, Maoxiang Jing, Xinye Qian & Xiangqian Shen

  2. Hunan Engineering Laboratory of Power Battery Cathode Materials, Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Changsha, 410012, People’s Republic of China

    Xiangqian Shen, Tianbao Li & Yanhua Wang

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  1. Shanshan Yao
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Correspondence to Shanshan Yao.

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Yao, S., Xue, S., Peng, S. et al. Synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride at different thermal-pyrolysis temperature of urea and it application in lithium–sulfur batteries. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 17921–17930 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9906-2

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