I-Corps: Polar Host Materials for Lithium-Sulphur (Li-S) Batteries

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发高性能和长寿命的锂硫电池。先进的电能存储系统的发展有望在未来几年对可再生能源和减少温室气体排放产生重大影响，目标是实现碳中和。锂硫电池被认为是电能储存系统的良好候选者，因为它们具有更高的能量密度和使用硫降低的成本。然而，大规模商业化锂硫系统的关键限制是多硫化物穿梭，导致容量迅速衰减。该技术旨在将表面工程化的极性氧化铈主体材料商业化，以取代多硫化物，从而在锂硫电池中提供长寿命和高性能。具有高氧化还原活性的铈基氧化物主体的锂硫电池使其与当前的锂离子电池相比具有更高的能量密度和更低的成本。锂硫电池的商业化可能会对便携式电子产品，电动汽车，以及储能基础设施，如发电厂和电网级设备，用于太阳能和风能资源的间歇性可再生能源存储。I-Corps项目基于表面工程和催化活性极性氧化物的开发，用于锂硫电池中固定多硫化物的双基质材料。当来自阴极的多硫化物分子溶解到液体电解质中并穿梭穿过隔板以与锂阳极反应并腐蚀锂阳极时，发生多硫化物穿梭。通过水热合成和化学蚀刻表面工程制备的具有调谐的表面结构和缺陷的所提出的极性阴极主体材料可以有效地捕获多硫化物锂，促进多硫化物的催化转化，并且由于使用地球丰富的硫而显著提高锂硫电池的容量和循环性能，同时降低成本。这些表面工程化的和催化活性的极性氧化物主体材料还可以允许电池制造公司减轻穿梭效应，并使具有显著改善的电化学性能的锂硫电池商业化，以大幅降低的价格满足要求，从而赋予它们竞争优势。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估，更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of high performance and long-life lithium sulfur batteries. The development of advanced electrical energy storage systems promises to have a significant impact on renewable energy resources and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years with a goal of achieving carbon neutrality. Lithium sulfur batteries are thought to be good candidates for electrical energy storge systems due to their higher energy density and reduced cost from the use of sulfur. However, a key limitation of commercializing lithium sulfur systems on a large scale is polysulfide shuttling leading to a rapidly fading capacity. This proposed technology aims to commercialize surface engineered polar cerium oxide host materials to immobilize the polysulfides to provide long-life and high-performance in lithium sulfur batteries. The lithium sulfur battery with highly redox active cerium-based oxide hosts makes it competitive with the current lithium-ion battery with improved energy density and lower cost. The commercialization of lithium sulfur batteries may have a global impact for applications in portable electronics, electric vehicles, and energy storage infrastructure such as power plants and grid-level devices for intermittent renewable energy storage from solar and wind resources.This I-Corps project is based on the development of surface engineered and catalytically active polar oxide-based dual host materials for immobilizing polysulfides in lithium sulfur batteries. Polysulfide shuttling occurs when polysulfide molecules from the cathode dissolve into the liquid electrolyte and shuttle across the separator to react with and corrode the lithium anode. The proposed polar cathode host materials with tuned surface structure and defects prepared via hydrothermal synthesis and chemical etching surface engineering may effectively trap lithium polysulfides, promote the catalytic conversion of polysulfides, and significantly enhance the capacity and cycling performance of lithium sulfur batteries with reduced cost due to the use of earth abundant sulfur. These surface-engineered and catalytically active polar oxide host materials also may allow battery manufacturing companies to mitigate the shuttle effect and commercialize lithium sulfur batteries with significantly improved electrochemical performance to fulfill the requirements at substantially reduced prices, giving them a competitive advantage, and enabling future advances.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.