Inverse Vulcanization of a Natural Monoene with Sulfur as Sustainable Electrochemically Active Materials for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

A novel soluble copolymer poly(S-MVT) was synthesized using a relatively quick one-pot solvent-free method, inverse vulcanization. Both of the two raw materials are sustainable, i.e., elemental sulfur is a by-product of the petroleum industry and 4-Methyl-5-vinylthiazole (MVT) is a natural monoene c...

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Autores principales: Jian Xiao, Zhicong Liu, Wangnian Zhang, Ning Deng, Jijun Liu, Fulai Zhao
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/174f3b6b8a90434ba5d7d375875dbcb1
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Sumario:A novel soluble copolymer poly(S-MVT) was synthesized using a relatively quick one-pot solvent-free method, inverse vulcanization. Both of the two raw materials are sustainable, i.e., elemental sulfur is a by-product of the petroleum industry and 4-Methyl-5-vinylthiazole (MVT) is a natural monoene compound. The microstructure of poly(S-MVT) was characterized by FT-IR, <sup>1</sup>H NMR, XPS spectroscopy, XRD, DSC SEM, and TEM. Test results indicated that the copolymers possess protonated thiazole nitrogen atoms, meso/macroporous structure, and solubility in tetrahydrofuran and chloroform. Moreover, the improved electronic properties of poly(S-MVT) relative to elemental sulfur have also been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The copolymers are utilized successfully as the cathode active material in Li-S batteries. Upon employment, the copolymer with 15% MVT content provided good cycling stability at a capacity of ∼514 mA h g<sup>−1</sup> (based on the mass of copolymer) and high Coulombic efficiencies (∼100%) over 100 cycles, as well as great rate performance.