Abstract
A novel carbon material for use in lithium–sulfur batteries is fabricated from the seaweed Enteromorpha prolifera, a renewable source that grows rapidly in the sea near Qingdao, China, during the summer. The E. prolifera-derived carbon (EPC) possesses a multilevel micropore–mesopore structure and a certain amount of oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups. In addition, the hierarchical porous carbon also possesses a high specific surface area of 3536.58 m2 g−1 and a large pore volume of 1.754 cm3 g−1. The carbon can thus be loaded with a high sulfur content (EPC/S, 74.8 wt%), making it a promising candidate for use as the cathode material in lithium–sulfur batteries. The EPC was characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method, and other methods. The EPC/S cathode exhibited superior electrochemical performance; the first discharge capacity was as high as 1328 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C. Further, the capacity was 520 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.5 C and 510 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 1 C.
Graphical Abstract
Enteromorpha prolifera-derived carbon, a novel renewable material, possesses abundant functional groups, a high specific surface area and a large pore volume making it a promising candidate as a high-performance cathode material for lithium–sulfur batteries.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chen L, Shaw LL (2014) Recent advances in lithium–sulfur batteries. J Power Sources 267:770–783. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.05.111
Suo L, Hu Y, Li H, Wang Z, Chen L, Huang X (2013) Progress on high-energy density lithium–sulfur batteries. Chin Sci Bull (Chinese Version) 31 (58):3172. doi:10.1360/972013-789
Cui Y, Fu Y (2015) Polysulfide transport through separators measured by a linear voltage sweep method. J Power Sources 286:557–560. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.04.033
Xu R, Lu J, Amine K (2015) Progress in mechanistic understanding and characterization techniques of Li-S Batteries. Adv Energy Mater 5 (16):1500408. doi:10.1002/aenm.201500408
Cao R, Xu W, Lv D, Xiao J, Zhang J-G (2015) Anodes for rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries. Adv Energy Mater 5 (16):1402273. doi:10.1002/aenm.201402273
Nunes-Pereira J, Costa CM, Lanceros-Méndez S (2015) Polymer composites and blends for battery separators: state of the art, challenges and future trends. J Power Sources 281:378–398. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.02.010
Seh ZW, Sun Y, Zhang Q, Cui Y (2016) Designing high-energy lithium–sulfur batteries. Chem Soc Rev doi:10.1039/c5cs00410a
Zhang S, Ueno K, Dokko K, Watanabe M (2015) Recent advances in electrolytes for lithium–sulfur batteries. Adv Energy Mater 5 (16):1500117. doi:10.1002/aenm.201500117
Jiang H, Lee PS, Li C (2013) 3D carbon based nanostructures for advanced supercapacitors. Energy Environ Sci 6(1):41–53. doi:10.1039/c2ee23284g
Zhang LL, Zhao XS (2009) Carbon-based materials as supercapacitor electrodes. Chem Soc Rev 38 (9):2520–2531. doi:10.1039/b813846j
Kisu K, Iwama E, Naoi W, Simon P, Naoi K (2016) Electrochemical kinetics of nanostructure LiFePO4/graphitic carbon electrodes. Electrochem Commun 72:10–14. doi:10.1016/j.elecom.2016.08.013
Wang Y, Zhang L, Wu Y, Zhong Y, Hu Y, Lou XW (2015) Carbon-coated Fe3O4 microspheres with a porous multideck-cage structure for highly reversible lithium storage. Chem Commun 51(32):6921–6924. doi:10.1039/c5cc01251a
Xu G, Ding B, Shen L, Nie P, Han J, Zhang X (2013) Sulfur embedded in metal organic framework-derived hierarchically porous carbon nanoplates for high performance lithium–sulfur battery. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 1(14):4490. doi:10.1039/c3ta00004d
Cui J, Xi Y, Chen S, Li D, She X, Sun J, Han W, Yang D, Guo S (2016) Prolifera-green-tide as sustainable source for carbonaceous aerogels with hierarchical pore to achieve multiple energy storage. Adv Funct Mater doi:10.1002/adfm.201603933
Wang H, Yu W, Shi J, Mao N, Chen S, Liu W (2016) Biomass derived hierarchical porous carbons as high-performance anodes for sodium-ion batteries. Electrochim Acta 188:103–110. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2015.12.002
J.R. Zhang XLT, G.Q. Li (2010) Study of entermorpha prolifera. Period Ocean Univ China 40:093–095
Xu XCH DL, Yang WC (2003) Analysis of nutrition composition of entermorpha prolifera. J Zhejiang Ocean Univ 22(4):318–320
Byon HR, Gallant BM, Lee SW, Shao-Horn Y (2013) Role of oxygen functional groups in carbon nanotube/graphene freestanding electrodes for high performance lithium batteries. Adv Funct Mater 23(8):1037–1045. doi:10.1002/adfm.201200697
Jin LM, He F, Cai WL, Huang JX, Liu BH, Li ZP (2016) Preparation, characterization and application of modified macroporous carbon with CoN site for long-life lithium–sulfur battery. J Power Sources 328:536–542. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.08.060
Song J, Yu Z, Gordin ML, Wang D (2016) Advanced sulfur cathode enabled by highly crumpled nitrogen-doped graphene sheets for high-energy-density lithium–sulfur batteries. Nano Lett 16(2):864–870. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03217
Wang X, Liu C-G, Neff D, Fulvio PF, Mayes RT, Zhamu A, Fang Q, Chen G, Meyer HM, Jang BZ, Dai S (2013) Nitrogen-enriched ordered mesoporous carbons through direct pyrolysis in ammonia with enhanced capacitive performance. J Mater Chem A 1(27):7920. doi:10.1039/c3ta11342f
Wang Q, Cao Q, Wang X, Jing B, Kuang H, Zhou L (2013) A high-capacity carbon prepared from renewable chicken feather biopolymer for supercapacitors. J Power Sources 225:101–107. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.10.022
Zhu S, Wang Y, Jiang J, Yan X, Sun D, Jin Y, Nan C, Munakata H, Kanamura K (2016) Good low-temperature properties of nitrogen-enriched porous carbon as sulfur hosts for high-performance Li-S batteries. ACS App Mater Interfaces 8 (27):17253–17259. doi:10.1021/acsami.6b04355
Li ZX, Zhang X, Liu YC, Zou KY, Yue ML (2016) Controlling the BET surface area of porous carbon by using the Cd/C ratio of a Cd-MOF precursor and enhancing the capacitance by activation with KOH. Chemistry. doi:10.1002/chem.201603072
Tang H, Gao P, Liu X, Zhu H, Bao Z (2014) Bio-derived calcite as a sustainable source for graphene as high-performance electrode material for energy storage. J Mater Chem A 2(38):15734–15739. doi:10.1039/c4ta03235g
Jeon JW, Sharma R, Meduri P, Arey BW, Schaef HT, Lutkenhaus JL, Lemmon JP, Thallapally PK, Nandasiri MI, McGrail BP, Nune SK (2014) In situ one-step synthesis of hierarchical nitrogen-doped porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitors. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 6 (10):7214–7222. doi:10.1021/am500339x
Ma F, Zhao H, Sun L, Li Q, Huo L, Xia T, Gao S, Pang G, Shi Z, Feng S (2012) A facile route for nitrogen-doped hollow graphitic carbon spheres with superior performance in supercapacitors. J Mater Chem 22(27):13464. doi:10.1039/c2jm32960c
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the “100 Talents” program of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials of Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Y., Zhang, Z., Zhu, S. et al. Enteromorpha prolifera-derived carbon as a high-performance cathode material for lithium–sulfur batteries. J Appl Electrochem 47, 631–639 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-017-1068-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-017-1068-z