Scalable Li‐Ion Battery with Metal/Metal Oxide Sulfur Cathode and Lithiated Silicon Oxide/Carbon Anode

A Li-ion battery combines a cathode benefitting from Sn and
MnO$_2$ with high sulfur content, and a lithiated anode including
fumed silica, few layer graphene (FLG) and amorphous carbon.
This battery is considered a scalable version of the system
based on lithium-sulfur (Li-S) conversion, since it exploits at the
anode the Li-ion electrochemistry instead of Li-metal stripping/
deposition. Sn and MnO$_2$ are used as cathode additives to
improve the electrochemical process, increase sulfur utilization,
while mitigating the polysulfides loss typical of Li-S devices.
The cathode demonstrates in half-cell a maximum capacity of
~1170 mAh g$_S$$^{-1}$, rate performance extended over 1 C, and
retention of 250 cycles. The anode undergoes Li-(de)alloying
with silicon, Li-(de)insertion into amorphous carbon, and Li-
(de)intercalation through FLG, with capacity of 500 mAhg$^{-1}$ in
half-cell, completely retained over 400 cycles. The full-cells are
assembled by combining a sulfur cathode with active material
loading up to 3 mg cm$^{-2}$ and lithiated version of the anode,
achieved either using an electrochemical pathway or a chemical
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one. The cells deliver at C/5 initial capacity higher than
1000 mAh g$_S$$^{-1}$, retained for over ~40 % upon 400 cycles. The battery is considered a promising energy storage system for
possible scaling-up in pouch or cylindrical cells.