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Shafique A, Rangasamy VS, Vanhulsel A, Safari M, Gross S, Adriaensens P, Van Bael MK, Hardy A, Sallard S. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma Coating of Sulfur for Mitigation of Capacity Fade in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:28072-28089. [PMID: 34100584 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c04069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Sulfur particles with a conductive polymer coating of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) "PEDOT" were prepared by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma technology under atmospheric conditions (low temperature, ambient pressure). We report a solvent-free, low-cost, low-energy-consumption, safe, and low-risk process to make the material development and production compatible for sustainable technologies. Different coating protocols were developed to produce PEDOT-coated sulfur powders with electrical conductivity in the range of 10-8-10-5 S/cm. The raw sulfur powder (used as the reference) and (low-, optimum-, high-) PEDOT-coated sulfur powders were used to assemble lithium-sulfur (Li-S) cells with a high sulfur loading of ∼4.5 mg/cm2. Long-term galvanostatic cycling at C/10 for 100 cycles showed that the capacity fade was mitigated by ∼30% for the cells containing the optimum-PEDOT-coated sulfur in comparison to the reference Li-S cells with raw sulfur. Rate capability, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance analyzes confirmed the improved behavior of the PEDOT-coated sulfur as an active material for lithium-sulfur batteries. The Li-S cells containing optimum-PEDOT-coated sulfur showed the highest reproducibility of their electrochemical properties. A wide variety of bulk and surface characterization methods including conductivity analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and NMR spectroscopy were used to explain the chemical features and the superior behavior of Li-S cells using the optimum-PEDOT-coated sulfur material. Moreover, postmortem [SEM and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET)] analyzes of uncoated and coated samples allowed us to exclude any significant effect at the electrode scale even after 70 cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Shafique
- Sustainable Materials, VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Institute for Materials Research (imo-imomec), Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, B 3500 Hasselt, Belgium
- Energyville, Thor Park 8320, B-3600 Genk, Belgium
| | - Vijay Shankar Rangasamy
- Sustainable Materials, VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Energyville, Thor Park 8320, B-3600 Genk, Belgium
| | - Annick Vanhulsel
- Sustainable Materials, VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Energyville, Thor Park 8320, B-3600 Genk, Belgium
| | - Mohammadhosein Safari
- Institute for Materials Research (imo-imomec), Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, B 3500 Hasselt, Belgium
- Imec vzw, div. imomec, Wetenschapspark 1, B 2590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
- Energyville, Thor Park 8320, B-3600 Genk, Belgium
| | - Silvia Gross
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padua, via Marzolo, 1, 35131 Padova, PD, Italy
| | - Peter Adriaensens
- Institute for Materials Research (imo-imomec), Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, B 3500 Hasselt, Belgium
- Imec vzw, div. imomec, Wetenschapspark 1, B 2590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Marlies K Van Bael
- Institute for Materials Research (imo-imomec), Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, B 3500 Hasselt, Belgium
- Imec vzw, div. imomec, Wetenschapspark 1, B 2590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
- Energyville, Thor Park 8320, B-3600 Genk, Belgium
| | - An Hardy
- Institute for Materials Research (imo-imomec), Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, B 3500 Hasselt, Belgium
- Imec vzw, div. imomec, Wetenschapspark 1, B 2590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
- Energyville, Thor Park 8320, B-3600 Genk, Belgium
| | - Sébastien Sallard
- Sustainable Materials, VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
- Energyville, Thor Park 8320, B-3600 Genk, Belgium
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Vanneste J, Ennaert T, Vanhulsel A, Sels B. Unconventional Pretreatment of Lignocellulose with Low-Temperature Plasma. ChemSusChem 2017; 10:14-31. [PMID: 27922209 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201601381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 12/04/2016] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Lignocellulose represents a potential supply of sustainable feedstock for the production of biofuels and chemicals. There is, however, an important cost and efficiency challenge associated with the conversion of such lignocellulosics. Because its structure is complex and not prone to undergo chemical reactions very easily, chemical and mechanical pretreatments are usually necessary to be able to refine them into the compositional building blocks (carbohydrates and lignin) from which value-added platform molecules, such as glucose, ethylene glycol, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and levulinic acid, and biofuels, such as bioderived naphtha, kerosene, and diesel fractions, will be produced. Conventional (wet) methods are usually polluting, aggressive, and highly energy consuming, so any alternative activation procedure of the lignocellulose is highly recommended and anticipated in recent and future biomass research. Lignocellulosic plasma activation has emerged as an interesting (dry) treatment technique. In the long run, in particular, in times of fairly accessible renewable electricity, plasma may be considered as an alternative to conventional pretreatment methods, but current knowledge is too little and examples too few to guarantee that statement. This review therefore highlights recent knowledge, advancements, and shortcomings in the field of plasma treatment of cellulose and lignocellulose with regard to the (structural and chemical) effects and impact on the future of pretreatment methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Vanneste
- Materials Department, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium
- Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200f, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Thijs Ennaert
- Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200f, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Annick Vanhulsel
- Materials Department, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium
| | - Bert Sels
- Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200f, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
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Vitchev R, Malesevic A, Petrov RH, Kemps R, Mertens M, Vanhulsel A, Van Haesendonck C. Initial stages of few-layer graphene growth by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Nanotechnology 2010; 21:095602. [PMID: 20110582 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/21/9/095602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
A promising method for the production of few-layer graphene (FLG) is microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (MW PECVD). However, the growth mechanism of PECVD-synthesized FLG is not completely understood. The aim of this work was to investigate the initial stages of the growth process of FLG deposited by MW PECVD on several substrates (quartz, silicon, platinum). The deposited thin films were characterized by angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the initial stages of the deposition were different for the three chosen substrate materials. However, the fully grown FLG layers were similar for all substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roumen Vitchev
- VITO Materials, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Mol, Belgium
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Malesevic A, Vitchev R, Schouteden K, Volodin A, Zhang L, Tendeloo GV, Vanhulsel A, Haesendonck CV. Synthesis of few-layer graphene via microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Nanotechnology 2008; 19:305604. [PMID: 21828766 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/19/30/305604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
If graphene is ever going to live up to the promises of future nanoelectronic devices, an easy and cheap route for mass production is an essential requirement. A way to extend the capabilities of plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition to the synthesis of freestanding few-layer graphene is presented. Micrometre-wide flakes consisting of four to six atomic layers of stacked graphene sheets have been synthesized by controlled recombination of carbon radicals in a microwave plasma. A simple and highly reproducible technique is essential, since the resulting flakes can be synthesized without the need for a catalyst on the surface of any substrate that withstands elevated temperatures up to 700 °C. A thorough structural analysis of the flakes is performed with electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy. The resulting graphene flakes are aligned vertically to the substrate surface and grow according to a three-step process, as revealed by the combined analysis of electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Malesevic
- VITO Materials, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Boeretang 200, BE-2400 Mol, Belgium. Laboratory of Solid-State Physics and Magnetism, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 D, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium
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