2025/06/30 by Ali Ansari Hamedani, Busra Cetiner, Begüm Yarar Kaplan +2 · 1 voice
Engineering · #Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies #Advanced Battery Technologies Research #Advancements in Battery Materials
paper · doi:10.1002/cphc.202401136
openalex publication_date 2025/06/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/22
Li–sulfur (LiS) batteries are potential alternatives to Li‐ion batteries due to the ampleness of the sulfur and their higher gravimetric energy density. However, in conventional LiS batteries, the dissolution and redox shuttling of the formed lithium polysulfide species (LiPSs) pose disadvantages regarding capacity retention. Herein, free‐standing nanofiber mats are fabricated using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) to address the shuttling of LiPSs. After the subsequent heat treatment of the nanofiber mats, denoted as stabilization and carbonization, they are introduced into the LiS cells between the sulfur electrode and the separator as an interlayer to intercept the shuttling LiPSs. Material characterizations confirm an ultrafine distribution of TiO 2 in the fibers and also the formation of a thin layer of SiO 2 on them after carbonization. Constant‐current discharge/charge cycling shows that using each of the developed interlayers leads to higher capacity retention compared to the case without any interlayer (100th cycle discharge capacity of 695 mAh g S −1 for stabilized PAN‐TiO 2 and 749 mAh g S −1 for CNF‐TiO 2 compared to 495 mAh g S −1 for the cell without an interlayer). The improved cycling performance with interlayers is attributed to the adsorption and conversion of LiPSs thanks to their nanocomposite structures.