Synthesis of polyaniline-sulfur composites with different nanostructures via an interfacial emulsification method and a micelle template method and their properties

Herein, polyaniline (PANI)-S with a nano-microsphere structure was synthesized via an interfacial emulsification method using Triton X-100 as an emulsifier and hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a dopant and covering element sulfur. Moreover, PANI-S with a nanotubular structure was synthesized via a micelle template method using sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) as a template and HCl as a dopant, followed by heating with 40 wt%, 60 wt%, and 70 wt% element sulfur. The two kinds of polyaniline-sulfur (PANI-S) composites were separately characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. Their electrochemical performances were also investigated, and the results showed that as the sulfur content increased, the electrochemical performance of the PANI-S (synthesized via the SDS/HCl template method) electrode improved due to the increase in the amount of the active substance in the electrode. Compared with nano-microsphere PANI-S, nanotube PANI-S has higher specific capacity (1102.01 mA h g(−1)), more stable cycle performance, and better rate performance, suggesting that an excellent lithium–sulfur battery can be prepared by designing an electrode material structure using nanotube PANI-S.