A Rechargeable Al/S Battery with an Ionic‐Liquid Electrolyte. Issue 34 (15th July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gao, Tao; Li, Xiaogang; Wang, Xiwen; Hu, Junkai; Han, Fudong; Fan, Xiulin; Suo, Liumin; Pearse, Alex J; Lee, Sang Bok; Rubloff, Gary W.; Gaskell, Karen J; Noked, Malachi; Wang, Chunsheng
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie international edition. Volume 55:Issue 34(2016)
• Page Start: 9898
• Page End: 9901
• Publication Date: 2016-07-15
• Subjects: aluminum/sulfur batteries -- electrochemistry -- ionic liquids -- solid-state reactions -- sulfur; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201603531
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1433-7851

Abstract

Abstract: Aluminum metal is a promising anode material for next generation rechargeable batteries owing to its abundance, potentially dendrite‐free deposition, and high capacity. The rechargeable aluminum/sulfur (Al/S) battery is of great interest owing to its high energy density (1340 Wh kg −1 ) and low cost. However, Al/S chemistry suffers poor reversibility owing to the difficulty of oxidizing AlS x . Herein, we demonstrate the first reversible Al/S battery in ionic‐liquid electrolyte with an activated carbon cloth/sulfur composite cathode. Electrochemical, spectroscopic, and microscopic results suggest that sulfur undergoes a solid‐state conversion reaction in the electrolyte. Kinetics analysis identifies that the slow solid‐state sulfur conversion reaction causes large voltage hysteresis and limits the energy efficiency of the system. Abstract : An ionic‐liquid electrolyte is employed to give a rechargeable Al/S battery . The hurdle for oxidizing AlS x is addressed by using a microporous carbon/sulfur cathode that can improve the electron access of sulfur species, enlarge interfacial reaction area, and reduce the Al 3+ diffusion length (<2 nm). Experimental results indicate that sulfur undergoes solid state conversion reaction in the electrolyte.