Light Weight Li-Sulfur Batteries as Next Generation Storage Solution
Abstract – State of the art Li /Na ion rechargeable batteries generate significant carbon footprint during the procurement of relatively scarce raw materials of Li, Co, Ni etc., man
ufacturing of cell, and their recycling. Lithium – sulfur battery is far more environmentally friendly as it uses only scarce lithium, has significantly higher specific energy density than Li ion cells, and easier to recycle. A facile one step scalable process will be discussed to increase the loading and conductivity of sulfur; retard long chain polysulfide shuttling, tackle volumetric fluctuation of active particles and inhibit the lithium anode corrosion together with its dendritic growth during discharge – charge cycles. The developed Li – S system yield increased discharge capacity with reasonable cycleability and rate performance. Challenges for the development of high-capacity Li – S cell module, battery and thermal management systems and packaging of these batteries are discussed.
Brief Bio: Prof. Majumder is a Professor of Material Science at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He completed B. Tech in Ceramic Engineering, Master and Ph.D in Materials Science from IIT Kanpur. He has 25+ years of electro-ceramic materials research experience globally, in India, USA, and Germany, and has collaborators in Australia and Taiwan. His current areas of research include Li/Na ion rechargeable batteries, supercapacitor – battery hybrid electrodes for Li ion batteries, Li – Sulfur battery, chemi-resistive gas sensors, flyash-based ceramics, engineered cementitious composites, and fiber reinforced concretes. He is currently a Fulbright – Kalam Climate Fellow of Academic and Professional Excellence and a Visiting Professor at Kansas State University in that capacity. He has published over 200 peer review journal articles, and supervised 21 PhDs and 32 Masters students.