Fluorinated covalent organic polymers for high performance sulfur cathodes in lithium–sulfur batteries

H. Shin§, D. Kim§, H. J. Kim§, J. Kim, K. Char*, C. T. Yavuz*, J. W. Choi*

Chem. Mater., accepted (2019). §: Equal contribution
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b01986

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries by far offer higher theoretical energy density than that of the commercial lithium-ion battery counterparts, but suffer predominantly from an irreversible shuttling process involving lithium polysulfides. Here, we report a fluorinated covalent organic polymer (F-COP) as a template for high performance sulfur cathodes in Li–S batteries. The fluorination allowed facile covalent attachment of sulfur to a porous polymer framework via nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction (SNAr), leading to high sulfur content, e.g., over 70 wt %. The F-COP framework was microporous with 72% of pores within three well-defined pore sizes, viz. 0.58, 1.19, and 1.68 nm, which effectively suppressed polysulfide dissolution via steric and electrostatic hindrance. As a result of the structural features of the F-COP, the resulting sulfur electrode exhibited high electrochemical performance of 1287.7 mAh g–1 at 0.05C, 96.4% initial Columbic efficiency, 70.3% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 0.5C, and robust operation for a sulfur loading of up to 4.1 mgsulfur cm–2. Our findings suggest the F-COP family with the adaptability of SNAr chemistry and well-defined microporous structures as useful frameworks for highly sustainable sulfur electrodes in Li–S batteries.

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Nanoporous Networks as Caging Supports for Uniform, Surfactant-free Co3O4 Nanocrystals and Their Applications in Energy Storage and Conversion

J. Byun, H. A. Patel, D. J. Kim, C. H. Jung, J. Y. Park*, J. W. Choi*, C. T. Yavuz* 
J. Mater. Chem. A, 3, 15489 - 15497, (2015). DOI: 10.1039/C5TA02825F.
Selected among "Hot Papers of 2015"

We report a new, surfactant-free method to produce Co₃O₄ nanocrystals with controlled sizes and high dispersity by caging templation of nanoporous networks. The morphologies of Co₃O₄ nanoparticles differ from wires to particulates by simply varying solvents. The composites of nanoparticles within network polymers are highly porous and are promising for many applications where accessible surface and aggregation prevention are important. The electrochemical performance of the composites demonstrates superior capacity and cyclic stability at a high current density (∼980 mA h g−1 at the 60th cycle at a current density of 1000 mA g−1). In a catalytic oxidation reaction of carbon monoxide, the composites exhibit a remarkable stability (in excess of 35 hours) and catalytic performance (T100 = 100 °C).

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