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Exploiting methylated amino resin as a multifunctional binder for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

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Abstract

The practical application of Li–S batteries is severely restricted by limited cycle life and low sulfur loading. Here, a common industrial paint, methylated amino resin (MAR), was employed as a novel multifunctional binder to address these issues. The S cathodes by using MAR binder (S@MAR) demonstrate an excellent reversible capacity of 480.9 mA·h·g−1 after 400 cycles at a rate of 0.5 C, and the sulfur loading in the electrode could achieve as high as 3.0 mg·cm−2. These achievements are ascribed to the superior mechanical property for volume expansion, better adsorption ability toward polysulfides, and more favorable Li+ transportation of MAR, compared to the conventional binders of polyvinylidene difluoride and carboxymethylcellulose. This study paves a new way for obtaining high-energy-density Li–S batteries by the simple application of multifunctional binder that are inherently cost-effective.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51902036 and 51865021), the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing Science & Technology Commission (No. cstc2019jcyj-msxm1407), the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing Technology and Business University (No. 1952009), the Venture & Innovation Support Program for Chongqing Overseas Returnees (No. CX2018129), the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (Nos. KJQN201900826 and KJQN201800808), the Innovation Group of New Technologies for Industrial Pollution Control of Chongqing Education Commission (No. CXQT19023) and the Open Research Fund of Chongqing Key Laboratory of Catalysis and New Environmental Materials (No. KFJJ2018082).

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Author notes

  1. Xing-Xing Gu and Zhen-Guo Yang have equally contributed to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Catalysis and New Environmental Materials, College of Environment and Resources, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, 400067, China

    Xing-Xing Gu, Cheng-Bin Shao & Xiao-Lei Ren

  2. Chongqing Jianfeng Industrial Group Co., Ltd., Chongqing, 408601, China

    Zhen-Guo Yang

  3. GRINM Group Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100088, China

    Shuang Qiao

  4. Faculty of Civil Aviation and Aeronautics, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650000, China

    Jing-Jing Yang

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  1. Xing-Xing Gu
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Correspondence to Xing-Xing Gu or Jing-Jing Yang.

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Gu, XX., Yang, ZG., Qiao, S. et al. Exploiting methylated amino resin as a multifunctional binder for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries. Rare Met. 40, 529–536 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01409-1

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