Aqueous processable polymer blend as a multifunctional binder for advanced Li–S batteries
摘要
Polymer binders contribute a significant part in enhancing the basic stability and steadiness of the electrode to a greater extent. Nevertheless, extensively employed electrochemically inactive binders like PVDF are incapable of providing any extra benefits and merely act as an inert binder. Multi-functional binders with varying properties are currently used in lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs) to overcome their basic challenges. Herein, polyvinyl alcohol-poly 2-acrylamido 2-methyl 1-propane sulfonic acid blend (PVA-PAAMPS) is employed as a multi-functional aqueous binder for LSBs. The polymer binder revealed superior adhesion and better polysulfide confinement ability, and promoted ionic transport. As a result, the cell showed an initial discharge capacity of 1264 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C with 89% retention in capacity after 100 charge-discharges. Furthermore, the cell revealed 815 mAh g−1 capacity at 0.5 C rate, maintaining 72% of its initial capacity even after 500 cycles. The enhanced electrochemical results imply the potential of the aqueous blended polymer as an effectual binder for better-performing LSBs.