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Microporous bamboo biochar for lithium-sulfur batteries

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Abstract

Being simple, inexpensive, scalable and environmentally friendly, microporous biomass biochars have been attracting enthusiastic attention for application in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, porous bamboo biochar is activated via a KOH/annealing process that creates a microporous structure, boosts surface area and enhances electronic conductivity. The treated sample is used to encapsulate sulfur to prepare a microporous bamboo carbon-sulfur (BC-S) nanocomposite for use as the cathode for Li-S batteries for the first time. The BC-S nanocomposite with 50 wt.% sulfur content delivers a high initial capacity of 1,295 mA·h/g at a low discharge rate of 160 mA/g and high capacity retention of 550 mA·h/g after 150 cycles at a high discharge rate of 800 mA/g with excellent coulombic efficiency (⩾95%). This suggests that the BC-S nanocomposite could be a promising cathode material for Li-S batteries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith School of Environment, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia

    Xingxing Gu, Yazhou Wang, Chao Lai, Jingxia Qiu, Sheng Li & Shanqing Zhang

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Yanglong Hou & Nasir Mahmood

  3. Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Gold Coast, QLD, 4001, Australia

    Wayde Martens

Authors
  1. Xingxing Gu
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  2. Yazhou Wang
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  4. Jingxia Qiu
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  9. Shanqing Zhang
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Correspondence to Yanglong Hou or Shanqing Zhang.

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Gu, X., Wang, Y., Lai, C. et al. Microporous bamboo biochar for lithium-sulfur batteries. Nano Res. 8, 129–139 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0601-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0601-1

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