Influence of the Electrode Materials on the Electrochemical Performance of Room Temperature Li-SO2 Rechargeable Battery

The influence of the electrode material on the electrochemical properties of Li/SO2 rechargeable batteries containing a LiAlCl4-based inorganic electrolyte solution was investigated using various carbon black materials such as Ketjenblack EC-600JD (KB-600), Ketjenblack EC-300J (KB-300), Printex XE-2, and acetylene black. The electrochemical reaction of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in an inorganic electrolyte was found to be strongly dependent on the type of carbon black material. The test cells with KB-600, KB-300 and Printex XE-2 exhibited much larger discharge capacities of more than 1650 mAh/g in the first cycle with respect to the carbon weight in the cathode compared to that (~560 mAh/g) of the test cell with acetylene black. In particular, the cell with KB-600 showed extremely high capacities of 1280 mAh/g at a C-rate of 5.0 C and considerable capacity retention (87%) after 50 cycles.