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

Award ID: 2147564

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.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman