Silk cocoon derived carbon and sulfur nanosheets as cathode material for Li-S battery application

The lithium-sulfur cathode material is one of the potential electrode materials used in the Li-sulfur battery due to its high capacity. A rapid heating process was used to synthesis the sulfur nanosheets. Hierarchical porous carbon materials were prepared by carbonization of silk cocoon (sC). The sulfur nanosheets and carbonized silk cocoon nanocomposite were prepared by simple melt-diffusion method. The morphology and anchoring of sulfur nanosheets on carbonized silk cocoon were confirmed by SEM and TEM studies. The Raman spectroscopy measurement was employed to verify the formation of graphitic carbon nanostructure. The electrochemical performance of sulfur and carbonized silk cocoon (S-sC) nanocomposite sample showed 1231 mAh/g discharge capacity at 0.05 C. The capacity retention of the sample was about 997 mAh/g after 50 cycles. This nanocomposite material plays a vital role in improving electrochemical performance. The sulfur nanosheets anchored on silk fiber will be an ideal cathode candidate material for lithium-sulfur batteries.