ChemElectroChem
ChemElectroChem
5 years ago

Active Platinum Nanoparticles as a Bifunctional Promoter for Lithium−Sulfur Batteries

Active Platinum Nanoparticles as a Bifunctional Promoter for Lithium−Sulfur Batteries
Zejing Lin, Xi Zhu, Wenlong Huang, Yun Wang, Xia Li, Zhongqiang Shan
As a widely used electrocatalyst in fuel cells, metallic platinum has achieved great success in terms of kinetic promotion. Still plagued by a familiar problem, owing to the sluggish kinetics of irreversible Li2S2/Li2S species deposition, lithium−sulfur batteries with high theoretical energy are far from being realized. Inspired by the similarity between oxygen and sulfur, being in the same group, commercially available Pt/C was investigated here to explore the possible effect on the sulfur cathode. The electrochemical tests show that the electrode with 2 wt% Pt added delivers a 61 % enhancement in the discharging specific capacity compared to the control electrode after 200 cycles at 0.5 C, along with an average coulombic efficiency of 98.3 %. It is proven that these beneficial results can be attributed to the favorable capability of polysulfide immobilization and effective inhibition of self-discharging behavior. The ex situ XPS analysis and the increased exchange current density further reveal that the involved platinum nanoparticles could not only function as a static chemical absorber for polysulfide species, but, more importantly, to promote the redox kinetic effectively as an electrochemical catalyst. The positive effect of utilizing commercial Pt/C materials directly on sulfur cathodes is of great significance in developing sulfur cathodes for Li/S batteries. Old dogs, new tricks: The commercially available Pt/C fuel cell catalyst is introduced into the lithium−sulfur system. The shuttle effect of soluble polysulfide as well as the irreversible deposition of the Li2S2/Li2S can be effectively mitigated, owing to the strong chemical interaction and promoted electrochemical conversion provided by the Pt nanoparticles.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/celc.201700533

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