This article is about Lithium Sulphur Batteries. Our readers will get a fair knowledge about everything about Lithium Sulphur Batteries, their working, usage, and future perspective after going through this article.
Lithium Sulphur Batteries
Lithium Sulphur Batteries are a member of the lithium-ion battery. This battery has many advantages as compared to earlier batteries being used in electric vehicles. Its main advantage lies in the high energy density which is several times more than that of a traditional lithium-ion battery. A lithium sulphur battery is made up of metal lithium negative poll and the element sulphur with a positive pole.
It is a type of rechargeable battery which can be used again and again. It is known for its high specific energy. These types of batteries are relatively lighter in weight due to the low atomic weight of lithium and the moderate atomic weight of sulphur. They can be used easily at high altitudes, in airplanes, and for other activities.
Working of Lithium Sulphur Batteries
For understanding the working of this battery, we need to first understand that they are made up of lithium and sulphur elements. The working principle is based on the shuttling effect principle. This means that the lithium metal anode oxidizes or loses electrons to form lithium ions. These lithium ions travel through the electrolyte toward the cathode which is made up of sulphur. When these ions reach the cathode, they form lithium polysulphides. These sulphide shuttles between the cathode and anode. Due to this, the working principle it is named the shuttling effect principle.
Sulphur Cathodes
Our readers must be thinking that why in this type of battery sulphur is chosen to make cathodes. We would like to inform them that sulphur has a high energy density. They have low cost and are abundantly available in nature. The other major aspect of sulphur is that they have a lower environmental footprint. Due to all these reasons, sulphur is used to make cathodes in these batteries. Their composite such as sulphur carbon material is also very useful and has very high energy density and gives better performance.
Lithium Anodes
After cathode, the next important question in everybody’s mind is why anodes are made up of lithium. It would be very interesting for all of us to know that lithium metal has a very high theoretical specific capacity. The capacity of lithium is 3869 mAh/g. Lithium has replaced graphite which was earlier used in lithium-ion batteries. The specific capacity of graphite is just 372 which is almost 10% of the capacity of lithium.
Some Disadvantages of Lithium Sulphur Batteries
We have also discussed a lot of advantages and positive points about Lithium Sulphur Batteries. It is very important for us to make readers aware of the negative aspects of the same. Here we are listing down some points due to which these batteries have not achieved the acceptable life cycle yet.
- Sulphur metal has very poor conductivity. This slows down the kinetics of electrochemistry.
- Sulphur cathodes used in these batteries exhibit high irreversible loss, poor cycling stability, and low columbic efficiency. They also have high internal resistance.
- While charging and discharging, the volume of sulphur cathode expands. This puts a lot of pressure on the electrodes causing damage to the cells.
- The anode made up of lithium is prone to dendrite formation. These dendrites reach the cathode and can cause a short circuit.
The Future of Lithium Sulphur Batteries
Talking about the future, there are a few companies that are working extensively to develop the best Lithium Sulphur Batteries for electric vehicles. There are companies that have reached after researching 100 more than 200 charge-discharge cycles and have retained 80% capacity. They are working to solve the faster capacity degradation issues.
Lots of existing giants, as well as many new startups, have entered this segment. Researchers are working on improving the life cycle of Lithium Sulphur Batteries. In the coming times, we can see a lot of manufacturing plants and setups in India as well. People have understood that lithium sulphur batteries have higher energy density compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. So, they are working very hard to exploit all the positives and benefits of these batteries in the coming times.
Conclusion
At last, we can say that these batteries can be a game changer for us. They can prove to be beneficial and will have multidimensional benefits. Leading companies, manufacturers, and scientists along with the Indian government are working very hard to find the best solution for lithium sulphur batteries. We hope to find the best possible tools and techniques to integrate them into the existing technology. They will help to change the future of India in terms of the automotive industry.
