B5 - 207 - University of Pittsburgh

Conference Session B5
Paper 207
Disclaimer—This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is
based on publicly available information and may not provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for
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TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN LI-S BATTERIES AND THEIR
APPLICATION IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
Joshua Misiura, [email protected], Mena 1PM, Andrew Impellitteri, [email protected], Mahboobin 4PM
Abstract—A major challenge that humanity will face in the
future is the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy
sources. Gilbert Masters, a professor of engineering at
Stanford, has stated that the world will completely run out of
oil in around 41 years. To overcome this change batteries,
must be employed to store the energy created at peak times so
it can be used at any time. Currently, batteries are relatively
inefficient at storing energy compared to petrochemicals but
lithium sulfur batteries offer a cheaper and more energy
dense alternative to the traditional lithium-ion battery. A
lithium sulfur battery differs from a lithium ion battery in that
the cathode is replaced by either pure sulfur or a mixture of
polymers and sulfur. According to the Journal of Power
Sources, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have the potential to
be almost five times higher in specific energy (capacity) than
the leading commercial LiCoO2 battery, indicating a
momentous reward for any advancements in this technology.
The challenges faced by researchers attempting to build Li-S
batteries are, “their poor rechargeability and high selfdischarge rates.” Many technologies to improve Li-S are
currently being studied such as graphene polymers, zerodimensional sulfur matrices, and core/yolk shell structure
cathodes. In one study, researchers created an “Li-S cell
using a dual-type hybrid sulfur cathode and a lithiated
Si/SiOx nanosphere anode with an optimized liquid
electrolyte,” which increased the capacity of the battery and
maintained capacity even after several hundred cycles
(recharges).
Key Words—Lithium-ion batteries, Lithium–sulfur batteries,
Rechargeable batteries, Renewable energy, Sulfur cathodes,
Sustainability
THE PROBLEM OF FOSSIL FUEL
DEPENDENCE
The problem of scarcity with regards to fossil fuels does
not have one simple solution. The inevitable end of fossil
fuels will no doubt bring about an era of mass technological
change, and according to a one Stanford engineer, Gilbert
Masters, it is going to happen sooner than most think: in
around forty years [1]. Currently, carbon based sources of
energy are far preferable to batteries because of their
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering 1
03.03.2017
extremely high energy density. Not even the most efficient
rechargeable batteries come close to the high energy density
of gasoline (4.32 MJ/L compared to 34.2 MJ/L respectively)
[2]. Generating stations that rely on petrochemicals also have
the advantage that they can produce any amount of electricity
at any given time to meet customer demand while renewable
methods such as wind or solar generation are limited by
nature and our own progress in their technological fields.
With the scarcity of petrochemicals in mind, it becomes
apparent that storing energy is necessary to meet energy
demand, and batteries are the obvious solution to this. With
the creation of higher energy density batteries, the transition
to renewable energy could be made less arduous because the
same amount of energy could be produced with far fewer
batteries, which helps makes other technological advances,
such as electric-powered vehicles, more efficient. Presently,
there are numerous battery technologies being investigated
such as lithium-air, lithium Manganese Oxide, and lithium
cobalt oxide, but in this paper we will be focusing on
Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries and the particular challenges
faced by researchers in creating an effective Li-S battery [3].
There are several different technologies such as graphene
sulfur polymers, core/yolk–shell structures, and zero
dimensional porous carbon–sulfur composites, which are
potential candidates for possible functional designs of a Li-S
battery [3].
WHAT IS A LITHIUM ION BATTERY
A lithium sulfur battery consists of a lithium anode, a
sulfur based cathode often mixed with carbon, and an
electrolyte that allows Li ions to pass through. The battery
during discharge “converts lithium metal in the anode into
Li2S at the surface of the cathode. The flow of two lithium
ions from the anode to the cathode is then balanced by the
flow of two electrons between the battery contacts, delivering
double the current of a Li-ion battery at a voltage between
about 1.7 and 2.5 volts” [3]. In most Li batteries, such as Liion, the process is intercalation: the process where ions are
inserted in between layered molecular structures; however, in
an Li-S battery, an S8 ring attached to a carbon layer is
broken down by the lithium ions into smaller chains, which
eventually are reduced down to Li2S. The operating voltage
Joshua Misiura
Andrew Impellitteri
for Li-S is safer than the voltage produced by Li-ion batteries
which range from 3.2 to 3.8 V [4]. The lower operating
voltage presents less safety hazards without sacrificing
battery effectiveness, as the battery is still able to deliver
more current than a Li-ion battery. In addition to the Li2S
battery delivering a greater current than that of tradition Liion batteries, it also has a much higher gravimetric (in terms
of weight) and volumetric (in terms of volume) energy
densities at 2500 Wh kg−1 and 2800 Wh L−1, respectively
[4]. A high gravimetric density is important for consumer
products because it means a higher battery life compared to
the weight of the device while high volumetric density is
more important for large systems that require batteries such
as electric vehicles or energy storage stations, because the
amount of space limited by design factors determines the
amount of energy that can be stored.
favorable mechanical properties because of its fully
interconnected polymer membranes.
In addition to gel polymer electrolytes, ionic liquid
electrolytes have attracted attention. They have several
advantages including negligible vapor pressure, nonflammability, high lithium ion conductivity, and lithium
dendrite inhibition. One such electrolyte, comprised of nmethyl-n-butyl-piperidinium
bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)
imide (PP14TFSI), as well as other organic compounds,
exhibits a coulombic efficiency of over 98% and a high
cycling stability [6]. However production of PP14TFSI is
very expensive, making it unlikely to be used in any
widespread applications. In cases where cost in unimportant
and there is a need for extremely high performance batteries,
this technology be implemented.
GRAPHENE-SULFUR POLYMERS
PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL LI-S
TECHNOLOGY
One development in the engineering of more reliable Li-S
batteries came out of a joint research study out of laboratories
located at places such as Princeton, the Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory, and Wuhan, China, which showed the
effect of integrating carbon-sheeting technology into the
sulfur cathodic component of the battery [7]. In this study,
researchers saw potential in integrating the carbon sheets in
the form of graphene. Graphene was first thought of as a
candidate for this study because of its high electrical
conductivity and surface area, as well as its previous
reputation of stabilization from testing done on electrodes for
lithium-ion batteries [7]. To combine the sulfur and the
graphene sheeting, the researchers had to first prepare the
graphene by conducting a thermal expansion process on
graphene oxide, while still keeping the carbon-oxygen ratio
optimal [7]. In the end, the carbon to oxygen ratio was 14,
which still allowed for efficient electrical conductivity [7].
This graphene oxide then coated each sulfur molecule to
create what is known as a functionalized graphene sheetssulfur nanocomposite, or FGSS [7]. This sheet-sulfur system
resembles what the researchers called a sandwich structure,
with each sulfur molecule uniformly encased between the
graphene sheets. This uniform distribution of sulfur particles,
along with the encasement of the particles, allows a, “higher
reversible capacity at fast charge/discharge rates” [7]. To test
this material, it is then coated in Nafion, a common proton
exchange membrane, and then tested as a cathode. After
testing, it is found that the lithium-sulfur battery with the
FGSS has a reversible capacity of 960 mAh g-1 at .1C, with
greater than 70% capacity retention after 100 cycles, which is
comparable to high-grade graphene-integrated lithium-ion
reversible capacity and retention at 718 mAh g-1 [8].
Though it is an important advancement in the
engineering of an effective Li-S battery, this research did not
provide a complete solution for the issues revolving around
Li-S batteries. For example, it was shown in from the results
that the sulfur loading after 40 cycles was extremely low
(around 20%) and its capacity drops from over 1100 mAh/g
With all the theoretical advantages discussed above it
may be puzzling why these batteries have not been widely
adopted. Though, when looking at sulfur’s physical
properties, it becomes clear why they have not been fully
integrated. Sulfur is an efficient insulator (5 × 10−30 S cm−1
at 25 °C) so extensive work must be done to make it
conductive to electricity. Additionally, when in a battery, the
sulfur as a cathode will form polysulfide intermediates which
easily dissolve into the electrolyte layer and reduce the
batteries capacity very quickly [3][4]. Compounding this with
the problem of expansion makes engineering a working
battery even harder. During cycling (charging and
discharging), the volume of the battery can expand up to 80%
and then contracts the same amount during discharge [4].
Batteries that expand such a large amount cannot be put in
cell phones or other common electronics without significant
reworking because they would break very quickly as the
internal strain would occur and the contact between the
electrode and the current collector would be lost.
Choice of electrolyte is also a challenge with
building Li-S batteries. Traditional liquid organic electrolytes
have a high conductivity and low viscosity for ion transport,
but lack the strength and durability of solid state electrolytes,
as well as being prone to dendrites (crystalline precipitation
of metal) forming [3]. The dendrites can severely impede the
ability for electrons to flow because they increase the anode’s
ability to insulate, and therefore reduce the cycling stability
and capacity of the battery. Gel polymer electrolytes can
provide an option with the advantages of both methods. To
produce the electrolyte, polypropylene is coated with nanoAl2O3 and then electrospun with poly vinylidene fluoridehexafluoropropylene [5]. Electrospinning involves using an
electrical force on a charged polymer to create an extremely
thin chemical fiber. This method of production, in particular,
produces an electrolyte with high ionic conductivity and
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to about 600 mAh/g [7]. This is the same common issue, due
to dissolution, that is a problem in Li-S batteries across the
board. This recurrent problem is the exact reason that several
other different methods of creating efficient sulfur batteries
have been researched, such as the core/yolk and the porous
carbon sulfur composites, which we will talk about in detail
in the following sections.
The best implementation of graphene seen thus far has
been to use an interlayer between the sulfur cathode and the
separator which substantially boosts the batteries ability to
stop polysulfide dissolution. This is known as a solid
electrolyte interface and helps to minimize sulfur side
reactions. The batteries using this type of technology have a
capacities of over 800 mAh g-1 for over 400 cycles [3]. The
solid interface helps to modify existing technologies and
provide more control over capacity decay, but also add more
cost to the battery, although future lost cost methods of
production may be explored.
into the electrolyte. By thermally treating sublimed sulfur and
carbon spheres researchers have achieved a microporous
composite with pores that average around 0.7 nm determined
through X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron
microscopy, and thermogravimetry. The researchers
determined that the material has a, “large reversible capacity
of approximately 650 mAh g-1 even after 500 cycles at a
current density of 400 mA g-1 , and displays a coulombic
efficiency as high as 100% except for the initial cycle” [10].
Coulombic efficiency of 100% implies that the electrons
being transferred are not engaging in any side reactions,
which would reduce the electrochemical ability of the system.
However, completely filling the pores with sulfur
reduces the capacity of the system because an overly large
density of sulfur does not allow for an effective exchange of
lithium ions. This limits the overall capacity of the battery,
and in order to increase capacity the volume of the pores
must be made larger; however, making them too large would
allow for polysulfide dissolution. Additionally, it is quite
difficult to manufacture carbon with extremely small pores of
similar size; therefore, more research must be done into
innovation methods of production before it can become cost
effective [3]. Without a cheap method of production (relative
to other substitutes), this method will likely never be used on
a large scale because companies are not motivated by the
positive environmental impact or better electrical properties
but by the products ability to make a profit, which this
technology does not appeal to. Porous carbon composites
have shown promise this far and will likely play a role in the
Li-S batteries of the future.
SULFUR CONTAINING NANOTUBES
One way of augmenting the aforementioned design of
sheets of graphene is creating a tube of graphene which is
filled with a sulfur core. Due to their structure they allow for
a fast flow of electrons and can accommodate the volume
expansion of sulfur when cycling [3]. These are two of the
three most essential properties a Li-S battery technology must
have in addition to needed a way to contain polysulfides.
Initially, simply precipitating the sulfur into the nanotube
proved to be very poor electrochemically; losing discharge
after just 30 cycles [9]. This is likely caused by the inability
of sulfur to adhere to the walls of the nanotube. In order to
properly fill the cylinder researcher had to an anodic
aluminum oxide membrane template to synthesize the
nanotubes in and the sulfur was then infused in the template
and etched over with carbon. This microarchitecture yielded
marginally better gains over the previous graphene
preparations mentioned and produced 837 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C
in the 100th cycle, and 432 mAh g-1 at 1 C even over 500
cycles [9]. While these numbers are better than the 718 mAh
g-1 recorded in the graphene sheet example, its complexity of
synthesis makes it much less likely to be used. To run the
process on an industrial scale would require a large amount of
energy and likely not be as sustainable as other options.
CORE/YOLK-SHELL STRUCTUR FOR
SULFUR CATHODES
One major drawback of using two dimensional
graphene polymers is that their open ends lead to dissolution
of polysulfides, reducing battery capacity. Using a core/yolk
structure is one of the most effective methods found thus far
in countering this. In order to stop this dissolution the sphere
of sulfur can be completely coated by a layer of carbon
particles. This method can yield shells with up to 85%
embedded sulfur content [11]. However, often times during
production the conductive polymer is not properly coated, or
the expansion of the sulfur can lead to polysulfide
dissolution.
One method of countering this is to use ultra-fine sulfur
or a smaller sulfur allotrope, such as S2. In order to create a
battery with this design sulfur is precipitated by a chemical
reaction on a membrane. The ultrafine sulfur particles and
collected and placed on a conductive layer. The battery has a
reported specific capacity of 930 mAh g-1 after 50 cycles but
lacks long term cycling capacity [11]. More specifically, a
polypyrrole nanotube film is sandwiched between the sulfur
cathode and a separating layer which stops the polarization of
sulfur molecules and reduces its mobility during
ZERO DIMENSIONAL POROUSSULFUR COMPOSITES
A possible solution to the polysulfide dissolution
problem is using microporous carbon to maximize surface
area and trap the polysulfides, rather than using a two
dimensional sheet of carbon or a nanotube to hold the sulfur
[10]. The tiny holes in the carbon allow for the Li ions to
attach to the sulfur, but are small enough so that cyclical
intermediates are trapped and will not outflow and dissolve
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electrochemical processes [11]. The unwanted movements of
smaller sulfides is known as the shuttle effect and can cause
degradation of the lithium anode and happens when larger
molecules carry smaller polysulfides during an
electrochemical reaction.
Another general method of attacking the polysulfide
dissolution problem is to create a sphere of sulfur and then
embed it in a conductive sphere. After embedding it in the
sphere, the inner sulfur sphere is shrunk down in size. To
create the sulfur, sodium thiosulfate was reacted with
hydrochloric acid to create monodisperse, or approximately
similar in size, sulfur nanoparticles [11]. The sulfur sphere is
coated with TiO2 and then toluene is used to remove a small
amount of the sulfur sphere, allowing for a gap as seen in Fig.
1 [11]. The gap allows for the expansion or contraction of the
sulfur during use while also making electrical contact with
the conductive shell.
other than TiO2 may further increase the stability of the
system although more research must be conducted to analyze
exactly which coatings produce the best results. Additionally,
by combining a number of different technologies such as
ultrafine sulfur particles and the core/yolk structure, a more
effective battery may be possible; however, more research
must be done on to which combinations of technologies
produce the best results.
MANUFACTURE OF LI-S BATTERIES
A great advantage of Li-S batteries is their low cost of
starting materials. Sulfur is a common byproduct in numerous
industrial chemical processes making it much cheaper than
other cathode materials, such as cobalt. Sulfur is also nontoxic, making it a better choice in comparison to heavy
metals, which are often used. At Beilstein Chemical
Company, research has been conducted on the problem of
mass producing Li-S batteries for commercial use [13]. The
process entails mixing sulfur with carbon and water to make a
slurry and this coating is continuously applied in a thin layer
over a sheet of aluminum. The continuous application of the
slurry is important because constant production will lead to
more efficient production of batteries. Using this continuous
slurry process, more batteries can be made in the same
amount of time, and increased production will mean lower
costs for consumers. After the coatings are applied, the water
is evaporated in a drying oven and the aluminium sheet is cut
and layered with a separating sheet that separates the cathode
and anode but also disallows the movement of polysulfides
[13]. This method of production is likely much more cost
effective than others because it does not involve the synthesis
of porous materials, which must have holes of exactly the
correct size. Several other companies are currently in the
process of creating commercial Li-S batteries such as Oxis
Energy, PolyPlus, Scion, and Toyota who is planning to
release Li-S batteries in an electric vehicle by 2020 [13].
Judging by the amount of companies who have invested
money into this idea there is certainly some hope as to the
future of Li-S because they obviously believe it is profitable.
An additional consideration to take into account when
looking at the commercial production of these batteries is
their environmental impact and sustainability. Even if a
battery is very energy dense, if its production requires a large
amount of energy or the use of scarce resources it will not be
an effective battery in combating the problem of
sustainability. This problem is addressed by the introduction
of recycled materials into products. In the case of Li-S
batteries, their main sulfur component can be created from
recycled from petroleum waste, which greatly reduces the
cost of production both economically and ecologically [14].
One of the most likely uses for Li-S batteries is
likely going to be electric vehicles because they are low
weight compared to their energy content and are relatively
cheap. Due to the fact that automobiles are one of the largest
FIG 1. [11]
Process for producing a core-yolk battery structure
with sulfur.
In a study of capacity retention with regards to coreyolk batteries, results using this method have been quite
promising. In fact, it exhibited stable cycling performance
over 1,000 charge/discharge cycles at 0.5 C (1 C = 1673 mAh
g-1) and after prolonged cycling over 1,000 cycles, the
capacity retention was found to be 67%, which corresponds
to a very small capacity decay of 0.033% per cycle (3.3% per
100 cycles), representing the best performance for long-cycle
lithium–sulfur batteries so far [11]. While this stability is not
nearly enough to compete with other electrochemical
systems, these findings give hope for the future that Li-S
batteries can eventually have a high enough capacity
retention to compete with other more common batteries.
In another more recent study done at Hanyang
University, a lithiated SiOx sphere anode was combined with
an activated carbon−sulfur composite on a gas diffusion layer
(GDL) electrode in contact with a catholyte solution to which
Li2S8 has been added [12]. The system delivers a maximum
capacity of around 1300 mAh g-1 and a maintenance of the
capacity above 99% of the initial capacity even after 100
cycles [12]. A capacity level that high even after more than
100 cycles seems promising and will likely generate more
scientific interest into possible improvements on this
microarchitecture.
Before batteries of this type can be produced
commercially, more research into further increasing cycling
stability must be done. Researchers suggest that coatings
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consumers of gasoline it is important to understand how
shifting production into Li-S electric vehicles will affect the
environment. One analysis conducted on the production of
Li-S batteries specifically made for vehicles concluded that
471 kg of input materials are necessary to manufacture a 279
kg battery [15]. Additionally it was found that, through
modelling industrial-scale processes, they estimate an energy
consumption in the range of 11.3 - 22.8 kWh kg-1 cell can be
achieved for the large scale Li-S cell production [15].
Understanding how much energy goes into producing a
product is important because it ultimately determines how
sustainable that technology will be. By seeing which parts of
production consume the most energy or require expensive or
hazardous material inputs, manufacturers can attempt to
overcome these technological challenges and build a more
sustainable battery.
For the life cycle energy consumption, the battery use
phase takes a share of 71%, followed by battery
manufacturing at 22%, and battery materials processing at
7% [15]. The paper that published these results used the most
current Li-S manufacturing methods as of writing this paper
because it was just very recently published. By both changing
the battery design and components the amount of energy used
in manufacture and materials processing could likely be
reduced and the battery could reach the U.S. Advanced
Battery Consortium target for energy density and still be a
sustainable product [15]. Specifically, the nanodispersion
method used takes up too much energy when compared to the
rest of production. Additionally, a binder free electrode
would help to lower costs as well as recycling batteries from
spent electric vehicles [15]. The binder adds significant
energy to the process as well as requiring many more inputs
to synthesize it so creating a method that goes without it is
integral to creating a sustainable battery.
and 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene, or DIB for short. The process
they use to incorporate these two is known as an inverse
vulcanization reaction, where a rubber or other synthetic
material is melted or broken down and then added to the
elemental sulfur. This allows the researchers to create a
material with an elemental sulfur content of 90-99%.
Alongside the DIB, researchers also added other organic
petroleum byproducts to the inverse vulcanization such as
1,3-diethynylbenzene and 1,4 diphenylbutadiyne to serve as
part of this cathode; however, due to these chemicals’ toxic
nature, this route has become unworthy of following. This
reaction showed to be fairly inexpensive as well as repeatable
at a larger scale, which was an important first step in creating
a sustainable, efficient Li-S battery [14].
SULFUR COPOLYMER-GRAPHENE
COMPOSITE BATTERY
Fig 2. [14]
Performance of Sulfur Copolymer vs sulfur alone
during electrochemical testing.
As mentioned, in order for a technology to be
sustainable, the technology must not only be ecologically
safe, it must also be efficient in function and also to produce.
For many such technologies, such as the porous carbon
method, these technologies are much too expensive to be able
to be commercially produced while being economically
efficient. However, introducing the concept of recycled
material into technology can enhance the product’s ability to
actively function in the market and as a sustainable good.
Researchers tried this approach when seeing the problems
with Li-S batteries and have found that they can use recycled
sulfur from petroleum waste as well as cardanol, an
agricultural byproduct, to create effective Li-S batteries with
minimal drawbacks [14].
The battery described above is derived from the
byproducts to create a copolymerization of elemental sulfur
After testing, this product alone did not work. Due to
the nature of the compound, which features an organicstructured benzoaxine that has multiple reaction sites for the
high percentage of sulfur to bond to, the copolymer was
found to have a very low electrochemical performance.
Looking further, the sulfur, which already has a low electrical
conductivity, paired with the C-a of the benzoaxine, created
an environment which had a resulting low electrical
conductivity. This created the need for another component to
be added to increase electrical conductivity. Following
previous research on items such as carbon nanotubes,
core/yolk methods, or additives, researchers had to determine
whether to follow another method while also incorporating
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Andrew Impellitteri
their copolymer or add another component to increase its
electrical conductivity [14].
The researchers found that they needed to add a
component with high surface area as well as a fair electrical
conductivity to counteract the copolymers poor performance.
Luckily, numerous tests had been done on graphene oxides as
a form of upgrading the electrical conductivity of pure sulfur
cathodes; however, this additive had drawbacks, such as its
inability to reduce dissolution of sulfur molecules. Through
research, it was found that using a reducing agent on the
graphene oxide could curtail some of the ailments that
plagued both the graphene oxide infused cathode as well as
other methods issues of dissolution [14].
The researchers decided to use rGOs (reduced graphene
oxides) because it functions even better than graphene oxide
does, while eliminating potential problems with graphene’s
drawbacks. To reduce this GO compound and create an rGO
for utilization in the cathode, the researchers used another
sustainable and readily available compound in the form of
gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid). The use of the
rGO allowed for an even chemical dispersion of the graphene
through the sulfur copolymer, allowing for “excellent’
electrochemical performance . As shown in figure 2, the
sulfur copolymer functioned even better than pure elemental
sulfur in Potential v Capacity and Capacity v Cycles [14].
These statistics are important, especially capacity v cycles,
because after several cycles, many Li-S batteries face a large
drop in capacity due to dissolution. However, the presence of
the rGO in the copolymer counteracts this negative effect of
dissolution and allows the battery to function effectively even
after several cycles.
example, the current Tesla Model S uses an advanced lithium
ion battery functioning in the range of 200-265 Wh/kg. If
equipped with an Li-S battery that functions at about 375
Wh/kg, which could soon become commercially available,
the mileage of a full battery charge will go from between
240-265 to between 360-400 miles [16][17]. On top of
cutting manufacturing costs for less batteries, this
advancement makes the Model S much more marketable
against current natural gas fueled vehicles. If effective, more
businesses may catch onto the electric vehicle trend, and help
eliminate the need for fossil fuel dependence. Not only would
creating an efficient Li-S battery be cost efficient for the
future, it would also provide for a cleaner and greener future.
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TRANSITIONING TO A SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
As traditional means of energy become more scarce the
world will become more and more dependent on batteries.
Low cost, high capacity rechargeable batteries will become
highly demanded. After analysing the current literature on LiS technology it seems as though advances in stopping the
dissolution of polysulfides reduces the overall capacity of the
battery because they decrease the amount of available sites
for an electrochemical reaction to occur. With further
research into Li-S battery technology companies could
provide a battery which has a high energy density, low cost of
production and strong cycling stability. With such a battery,
the battery market could become more diversified and less
dependent on Li-ion technology than it is currently reliant
upon. Overall, battery prices would not surge as much if
something happens to the production of Li-ion batteries and
therefore protects and betters the market for average
consumers.
If researchers manage to manufacture an effective Li-S
battery, it’s high energy density can mean endless
possibilities both economically and ecologically. For
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Joshua Misiura
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Andrew Impellitteri would like to acknowledge Trevor
Devine and his mother. Josh Misiura would like to
acknowledge his parents and Jerry Garcia.
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