Thesis
Fabrication of sulfur nanoplates for advanced sulfur cathode
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
12/2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103723
Abstract
With the increasing demanding for advanced energy storage devices, studies of high-capacity electrode materials have become even more critical. Sulfur is one of the most promising cathode materials with its advantages including high capacity, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, as sulfur is an insulating material in nature, it need to be combined with conductive materials in order to serve as an electrode. In addition, the desired sulfur structures for making cathodes request good feasibility to form composites with conductive nanomaterials and high loading amount of sulfur in the final composite electrodes. Therefore, study of fabrication of nanostructured sulfur with the appropriate morphology to achieve the high-performance cathode is significant. In this thesis, a new type of two-dimensional nanostructured sulfur: hexagonal sulfur nanoplate (Hex-SN) is synthesized via a self-assembly process of sulfur nanoparticles. The growth conditions for the Hex-SN have been investigated in details, including the type of surfactants, the concentration of the surfactant and reactant, the stirring condition, and temperature. It was found that these factors are critical for the self-assembly process and the growth of Hex-SN. Further studies revealed that the hexagonal morphology is not stable due to the weak interactions, which drive the self-assembly process. In order to stabilize the morphology of Hex-SN and composite it with conductive materials for achieving a high-performance sulfur cathode, Hex-SN was further treated by various conductive materials including carbon-based nanoparticles (eg. carbon nanofiber, carbon black) and conductive polymer (eg. PEDOT:PSS). Study results indicate that the treatment of Hex-SN via PEDOT:PSS is an effective method for fabricating the conductive Hex-SN with high stability, and the resulting material has been shown to have the potential for the application of future lithium/sulfur batteries.
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Details
- Title
- Fabrication of sulfur nanoplates for advanced sulfur cathode
- Creators
- Lu Chen
- Contributors
- Weihong Zhong (Chair)Louis Scudiero (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of ChemistryMin Kyu Song (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Number of pages
- 73
- Identifiers
- 99900525020601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis