The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has overcome the challenges that were preventing the commercialization of next-generation lithium-sulfur batteries and has succeeded in creating a large-area, high-capacity prototype, which is expected to bring about great innovation in various industries such as urban air mobility (UAM), electric vehicles, and aerospace.

KERI announced on the 20th that Dr. Park Jun-woo's team at the Next Generation Battery Research Center succeeded in suppressing the release of 'lithium polysulfide' using carbon nanotubes and oxygen functional groups.

Lithium-sulfur batteries use sulfur as the positive electrode and lithium metal as the negative electrode, and have a theoretical energy density that is eight times higher than that of existing lithium-ion batteries.

In addition, it is attracting attention as an environmentally friendly secondary battery because it does not use scarce resources and is inexpensive.

On the other hand, an intermediate substance called lithium polysulfide is generated during the charging and discharging process, which reduces the lifespan and performance of the battery, and has been a major obstacle to commercialization.

To solve this problem, Dr. Park Jun-woo's team developed a new technology that combines single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and oxygen functional groups.

SWCNTs are a new material that is stronger than steel and has excellent electrical conductivity, and the oxygen functional groups allow this material to be well dispersed in other materials inside the battery.

This increases the stability of the electrode and the solubility of lithium polysulfide.We succeeded in reducing the loss of sulfur, an active material, by effectively controlling its emission and diffusion.

Using this technology, the research team was able to produce a flexible thick-film electrode measuring 50x60mm and laminated it to produce a 1,000mWh (1Ah) pouch-type lithium-sulfur battery prototype.

This prototype boasts excellent performance, maintaining more than 85% of its capacity even after 100 charges and discharges.

Dr. Park Jun-woo said, “This achievement is significant not only because it solves a major problem that has been blocking the commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries, but also because it provides a basic framework that can be applied to actual industrial sites.”

The research results were published in the world-renowned journal 'Advanced Science' in the field of materials science, and the paper impact factor was 14.3, which is in the top 7.18%.

Based on this achievement, the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute plans to promote technology transfer with companies that require next-generation lithium-sulfur batteries in the urban air mobility, aerospace, ESS, and electric vehicle industries.

This study was conducted by a research institute under the National Research Council of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and ICT as a global top strategic research group project and basic project.