Synthesis of a Flexible Freestanding Sulfur/Polyacrylonitrile/Graphene Oxide as the Cathode for Lithium/Sulfur Batteries

Rechargeable lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries have received quite significant attention over the years because of their high theoretical specific capacity (1672 mAh·g(−1)) and energy density (2600 mAh·g(−1)) which has led to more efforts for improvement in their electrochemical performance. Herein, the synthesis of a flexible freestanding sulfur/polyacrylonitrile/graphene oxide (S/PAN/GO) as the cathode for Li/S batteries by simple method via vacuum filtration is reported. The S/PAN/GO hybrid binder-free electrode is considered as one of the most promising cathodes for Li/S batteries. Graphene oxide (GO) slice structure provides effective ion conductivity channels and increases structural stability of the ternary system, resulting in excellent electrochemical properties of the freestanding S/PAN/GO cathode. Additionally, graphene oxide (GO) membrane was able to minimize the polysulfides’ dissolution and their shuttle, which was attributed to the electrostatic interactions between the negatively-charged species and the oxygen functional groups on GO. Furthermore, these oxygen-containing functional groups including carboxyl, epoxide and hydroxyl groups provide active sites for coordination with inorganic materials (such as sulfur). It exhibits the initial reversible specific capacity of 1379 mAh·g(−1) at a constant current rate of 0.2 C and maintains 1205 mAh·g(−1) over 100 cycles (~87% retention). In addition, the freestanding S/PAN/GO cathode displays excellent coulombic efficiency (~100%) and rate capability, delivering up to 685 mAh·g(−1) capacity at 2 C.