Waste Office Paper Derived Cellulose-Based Carbon Host in Freestanding Cathodes for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Graphical From waste to battery : Waste office paper was used to prepare a free-standing paper-based carbon (FPC) substrate, which was further modified with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets (rGO@FPC) by a vacuum filtration method. After S impregnation, the rGO@FPC/S free-standing cathode was employed in Li−S batteries, which exhibited competitive cycling life and significant blocking action for polysulfide ions. Due to large sulfur (S) content and simple manufacturing techniques, free-standing cathodes for lithium-sulfur (Li−S) batteries are gaining a lot of attention recently. Waste office paper, which is consumed in large quantities annually, was used to make a free-standing paper-based carbon (FPC) substrate, which inherited fiber-like morphology. In addition, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets modified FPC (rGO@FPC) host was also prepared by a vacuum filtration method. After S impregnation, the FPC/S and rGO@FPC/S free-standing cathodes were employed in Li−S batteries. The rGO@FPC/S free-standing cathode exhibited extremely competitive electrochemical performance, including a reversible discharge capacity of 315 mAh g −1 at 0.5 C after 500 cycles. This is due to the uniform S distribution, which boosts the utilization ratio, and the significant blocking action for polysulfide ions, which prevents the redox shuttle effect.