Layer-by-Layer Assembled Architecture of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers and Graphene Sheets on Hollow Carbon Spheres/Sulfur Composite for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Feng Wu, Jian Li, Yuefeng Su*, Jing Wang, Wen Yang, Ning Li, Lai Chen, Shi Chen, Renjie Chen, Liying Bao

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

113 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In the present work, polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) and graphene sheets are applied to sequentially coat on the surface of hollow carbon spheres/sulfur composite by a flexible layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly strategy. Owing to the strong electrostatic interactions between the opposite charged materials, the coating agents are very stable and the coating procedure is highly efficient. The LBL film shows prominent impact on the stability of the cathode by acting as not only a basic physical barrier, and more importantly, an ion-permselective film to block the polysulfides anions by Coulombic repulsion. Furthermore, the graphene sheets can help to stabilize the polyelectrolytes film and greatly reduce the inner resistance of the electrode by changing the transport of the electrons from a "point-to-point" mode to a more effective "plane-to-point'' mode. On the basis of the synergistic effect of the PEMs and graphene sheets, the fabricated composite electrode exhibits very stable cycling stability for over 200 cycles at 1 A g-1, along with a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99%. With the advantages of rapid and controllable fabrication of the LBL coating film, the multifunctional architecture developed in this study should inspire the design of other lithium-sulfur cathodes with unique physical and chemical properties.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5488-5494
Number of pages7
JournalNano Letters
Volume16
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Sept 2016

Keywords

  • coating
  • graphene
  • layer-by-layer
  • lithium-sulfur batteries
  • polyelectrolyte

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Layer-by-Layer Assembled Architecture of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers and Graphene Sheets on Hollow Carbon Spheres/Sulfur Composite for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this