Cathodes for High Rate, Long Cycle Life Lithium Sulfur Batteries

摘要

Low cost and high capacity make lithium sulfur batteries (LSB) the next generation of lithium ion batteries. Practical application of LSB's remains limited by utilizing a limited fraction of the available sulfur and by fast capacity fading of sulfur cathodes. The root causes are poor electronic conductivity of the cathode combined with high solubility of intermediate polysulfide products during cycling. To overcome these limitations, Navitas is developing a conductive nanoporous ceramic host material for LSB cathodes. The nanoporous structure will better accommodate sulfur volume changes during cycling; its mechanical strength and conductivity will enable high utilization of sulfur; and its high affinity to both sulfur and polysulfides will minimize sulfur dissolution. The cathode material development and Li-S cell will be reported. Large format cell design and its potential application for aircraft F/A-18 battery will be discussed.