286047 Impact of Carbon BET Pore Volume On Sulfur Cathode Capacity
286047 Impact of Carbon BET Pore Volume On Sulfur Cathode Capacity
Friday, November 2, 2012: 10:12 AM
322 (Convention Center )
The effect of carbon surface area on capacity is investigated in cathodes for lithium sulfur batteries. Lithium sulfur batteries have high specific capacity (a theoretical capacity of 1672 mAh/g-S); however, additives like carbon are needed to overcome sulfur’s low electrical conductivity. Cathodes were prepared at 12.5wt% to 68wt% sulfur on activated carbon having BET surface areas of 1220 to 3200 m2/g. The utilization of the sulfur ranged from 33% to 83% of the theoretical loading with a good correlation to the accessible pore volumes. The data substantiate that sulfur can be successfully accessed on carbon supports through both intra-particle and inter-particle adsorption.
Nitrogen gas adsorption was performed to obtain specific surface area and pore volume for carbons based on BET adsorption theory; this method is commonly used for characterizing activated carbons. After the characterization, the activated carbons underwent a heat treatment in the presence of excess sulfur at 200°C for 6 hours and followed by 300°C for 3 hours. The goal was to allow sufficient time for sulfur pore penetration over the initial 6 hour period, then remove excess sulfur during the final 3 hours.
See more of this Session: Battery Technology - Emphasis On Lithium and Flow Batteries
See more of this Group/Topical: Fuels and Petrochemicals Division
See more of this Group/Topical: Fuels and Petrochemicals Division