Synthesis and Electrochemical Performance of Microporous Hollow Carbon from Milkweed Pappus as Cathode Material of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 20; p. 3605
• Main Authors: Kim, Jun-Ki, Choi, Yunju, Jeong, Euh Duck, Lee, Sei-Jin, Kim, Hyun Gyu, Chung, Jae Min, Kim, Jeom-Soo, Lee, Sun-Young, Bae, Jong-Seong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-10-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Batteries; Carbon; Cathodes; Electrochemical analysis; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Electron microscopy; Energy; Fuel cells; Graphene; Lithium; Lithium sulfur batteries; microporous hollow carbon; milkweed pappus; Photoelectrons; Radiation; Raman spectroscopy; Research methodology; Scanning electron microscopy; Seeds; Specific capacity; Spectrometry; Spectrum analysis; Sulfur; Sulfur compounds; Sulfur content; Thermogravimetric analysis; Transmission electron microscopy; X ray powder diffraction; South Korea; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Japan; Germany
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano12203605

Microtube-like porous carbon (MPC) and tube-like porous carbon–sulfur (MPC-S) composites were synthesized by carbonizing milkweed pappus with sulfur, and they were used as cathodes for lithium–sulfur batteries. The morphology and uniformity of these materials were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry. The electrochemical performance of the MPC-S cathodes was measured using the charge/discharge cycling performance, C rate, and AC impedance. The composite cathodes with 93.8 wt.% sulfur exhibited a stable specific capacity of 743 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a 0.5 C.