A novel type of battery developed to store energy using porous carbon from mold

The research team, headed by XIA Xinhui at the School of Materials Science & Engineering, Zhejiang University, developed a novel type of high-energy lithium-sulfur（Li/S）battery using porous carbon from Aspergillus Oryzae， a species of fugi to ferment soybeans for soy sauces in eastern Asian countries. They introduced porous carbon fermented from waste fruits and vegetables into the energy field as an energy storage material to produce higher-energy Li/S batteries whose capacity is three times higher than that of best batteries in the market. It may help resolve the endurance problem of electric cars in a long-distance journey in the foreseeable future. They are also competitive in cost and service life. This finding appears in the October 4 issue of Advanced Materials.

“The Li/S battery is considered to be a promising energy-storage technology, notable for the high theoretical capacity and achievable specific energy of sulfur. It uses lithium as a negative electrode and sulfur as a positive electrode. Its hypothetical capacity far surpasses that of lithium-ion batteries,” XIA Xinhui says, “Marked by its high specific energy, sulfur is perceived as an optimal material for next-generation batteries. However, one of the fatal flaws with a separate sulfur element is its insulation and the melting of intermediates in electrolytes.”

Scientists have long been seeking for an ideal host to anchor sulfur. Out of curiosity, XIA Xinhui performed an experiment with two putrefied oranges and embarked on a new research direction by accident. They cultured molds through fermentation, optimized their structure and generated a highly porous spore carbon/Ni2P composite. The spore carbon/Ni2P composite was then combined with sulfur, forming a composite cathode.

Their research revealed that cathode exhibits enhanced cycling stability and better rate performance than the spore carbon/S and artificial hollow carbon sphere/S counterparts. The synergistic effect on suppressing the shuttle effect of intermediate polysulfides is responsible for the excellent performance of Li/S batteries with the aid of a physical blocking effect arising from the electrical maze porous structure and the chemical adsorption effect originating from N, P dual doping and polarized compound Ni2P. Besides, this technology can also lead to immense economic revenues.