Battery & Electrification Technology - November/December 2024 - 26

long-term missions. In contrast, at high concentrations
(98 percent or more), hydrogen
peroxide is one of the most environmentally
friendly propellants. It was used recently in
this form for the first time in space flight,
powering a suborbital rocket built at the
Lukasiewicz Institute of Aviation in Warsaw.
Research on the production of hydrogen
peroxide using carbon materials recovered
from spent lithium-ion batteries,
previously financed by a SONATA grant
from the Polish National Science Centre,
will be continued. The focus will be placed
on enhancing the efficiency of electrochemical
reactions to a level suitable for
future industrial use. Future plans also
include exploring four-electron reduction
for potential applications in fuel cells.
For more information, contact Łukasz
Skowroński at Lukasz.Skowronski@pbs.
edu.pl.
Folded or Cut, This Lithium-Sulfur Battery Keeps Going
A lithium-sulfur battery features an improved iron sulfide cathode. One prototype remains highly
stable over 300 charge-discharge cycles, and another provides power even after being folded or cut.
American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
M
ost
power portable devices, such as
toys,
rechargeable
handheld
vacuums,
and
e-bikes, use lithium-ion technology. But
these batteries can have short lifetimes
and may catch fire when damaged. To
address stability and safety issues, researchers
reporting in ACS Energy Letters
FREE FLOWING
ENCAPSULANT
meets NASA Low
Outgassing Specifications
Two Part Epoxy
Supreme 121AO
Glass transition
temperature
200-210°C
Temperature resistance
Up to +550°F
Tensile modulus
750,000-850,000 psi
Mixed viscosity, 75°F
10,000-25,000 cps
+1.201.343.8983 ∙ main@masterbond.com
www.masterbond.com
26
batteries
that
have designed a lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery
that features an improved iron sulfide
cathode. One prototype remains
highly stable over 300 charge-discharge
cycles, and another provides power even
after being folded or cut.
Sulfur has been suggested as a material
for lithium-ion batteries because of its low
cost and potential to hold more energy
than lithium-metal oxides and other materials
used in traditional ion-based versions.
To make Li-S batteries stable at high temperatures,
researchers have previously proposed
using a carbonate-based electrolyte
to separate the two electrodes (an iron
sulfide cathode and a lithium metal-containing
anode). However, as the sulfide in
the cathode dissolves into the electrolyte, it
forms an impenetrable precipitate, causing
the cell to quickly lose capacity. Liping
Wang and colleagues wondered if they
could add a layer between the cathode and
electrolyte to reduce this corrosion without
reducing functionality and rechargeability.
The team coated iron sulfide cathodes
in different polymers and found in initial
electrochemical performance tests that
polyacrylic acid
(PAA) performed best,
retaining the electrode's discharge capacity
after 300 charge-discharge cycles.
Next, the researchers incorporated a PAAcoated
iron sulfide cathode into a prototype
battery design, which also included
a carbonate-based electrolyte, a lithium
metal foil as an ion source, and a graphite-based
anode. They produced and then
tested both pouch cell and coin cell battery
prototypes.
After more than 100 charge-discharge
cycles, Wang and colleagues observed no
substantial capacity decay in the pouch
This lithium-iron sulfide battery pouch cell
can be folded (top image) or cut (bottom
image) and still provide power. (Image: ACS
Energy Letters)
cell. Additional experiments showed that
the pouch cell still worked after being
folded and cut in half. The coin cell retained
72 percent of its capacity after 300
charge-discharge cycles. They next applied
the polymer coating to cathodes
made from other metals, creating lithium-molybdenum
and lithium-vanadium
batteries. These cells also had stable capacity
over 300 charge-discharge cycles.
Overall, the results indicate that coated
cathodes could produce not only safer
Li-S batteries with long lifespans, but
also efficient batteries with other metal
sulfides, according to Wang's team.
For more information, contact
newsroom@acs.org.
Battery & Electrification Technology, November/December 2024

http://info.hotims.com/86261-778

Battery & Electrification Technology - November/December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Battery & Electrification Technology - November/December 2024