BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

Although lithium-ion batteries face material sustainability issues, one promising alternative—lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries—suffers from destructive chemical reactions. Recently in Chem, Hou et al. proposed one viable solution: an encapsulating lithium polysulfide electrolyte. We discuss this advance and the potential role of biomass as an alternative sustainable material for Li-S battery cathodes.

High-quality graphene derived from ethanol (EdG) using an atmospheric pressure plasma torch has been used for the first time as a sulfur host for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery cathodes. Its excellent structural, morphological, and conductive properties make it a suitable material to accommodate sulfur inside its pores. In this way, the shuttle effect is effectively alleviated, reducing the loss of capacity, and improving the lifespan of Li-S batteries. EdG@S-based cathodes have demonstrated excellent performance for use in this technology, showing ultra-high stability, reaching 1000 cycles at very high rates of 3C and 5C, with minimal capacity loss (0.064 % and 0.045 % per cycle, respectively). In addition, a remarkable specific capacity of 256 mAh/g at ultra-high rates of up to 10C is achieved. Therefore, this study demonstrates that the use of ethanol-derived graphene synthesised by microwave plasma can be a viable option for the development, scalability, and industrialisation of Li-S battery technology.

The cost-effectiveness and high theoretical energy density make room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries (RT Na_S batteries) an attractive technology for large-scale applications. However, these batteries suffer from slow kinetics and polysulfide dissolution, resulting in poor electrochemical performance. The sulfurised polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) cathode is postulated as a suitable material due to the retention of sulfur through covalent bonds and the increase in the conductivity of sulfur. Furthermore, in this work the synthesis of SPAN has been carried out using simple synthesis methods, making it scalable, economical, and without the use of toxic compounds. The incorporation of the SPAN material helps mitigate the shuttle effect, reducing the capacity loss and improving both the efficiency and lifespan of Na_S batteries. The SPAN-based cathode demonstrates that this RT Na_S battery configuration shows high stability, reaching 1000 cycles with a capacity loss per cycle of 0.11% and a satisfactory specific capacity of 400 mAh/gs at a high rate of 2 C. This study demonstrates that the utilisation of SPAN derived from a non-complex synthesis can be a viable alternative for enhancing the future of Na_S batteries technology.

Despite being considered one of the most promising energy storage technologies, lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are limited in terms of commercialization by the shuttle effect and slow reaction kinetics. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that the use of recycled ferrite in conjunction with an external magnetic field generated by a permanent magnet can enhance the reaction kinetics and the adsorption of polysulfides (LiPSs), and hence the electrochemical stability. An in-depth kinetic study shows that under the effect of an external magnetic field, the electrode has lower polarization, a higher Li+ diffusion coefficient and a lower activation energy between electrochemical stages. The electrode also has a capacity retention up to 40 % higher and half the capacity loss per cycle at a high rate of 1C. At an ultra-high rate of 10C, the electrode has a capacity of 507 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles and an areal capacity of up to 3 mAh cm−2 at an ultra-high loading of 13 mg cm−2. In addition to the promising results observed in electrochemical terms, our approach is also more sustainable due to the use of a recycled electronic material obtained via dry milling, thereby avoiding the use of fossil carbons., This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Projects PID2020-113931RB-I00 & PID2023-147080OB-I00), European Union 'NextGenerationEU'/PRTR (Project PDC2021-120903-I00), Junta de Andalucía (FQM-175) and Navarra Government (project PC003-04 3D-MAGNET).