A Highly Ordered Nanostructured Carbon–Sulphur Cathode for Lithium–Sulphur Batteries
Nature Materials, 2009 · paper · Materials
Presents a lithium–sulphur battery cathode in which sulphur is confined within channels of ordered mesoporous carbon, with polymer modification of the carbon surface to hold back polysulphides. Reversible capacities reach up to 1,320 mA h g−1.
Checked: PDF from uwaterloo.ca, fetched 4 Oct 2026. Page numbers are those of that PDF.
4 findings
Reference or label Reference 10 ("Phase equilibria in lithium–chalcogen systems: Lithium–sulfur", 1972) is cited for "Typical reported capacities are between 300 and 550 mA h g−1 at moderate rates10" and for "similar to that reported in the literature for C–S composites10"; a phase-equilibria study does not fit either sentence.
- p. 1 Right column, first paragraph
550 mA h g−1 at moderate rates10
- p. 3 Right column, last paragraph
literature for C–S composites10
- p. 6 Reference 10
Phase equilibria in lithium–chalcogen systems: Lithium–sulfur
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: Checked the superscript 10 on the page 1 crop and the page 3 image, and the entry for reference 10 on page 6. Both citing sentences are about measured capacities of carbon–sulphur composite cathodes; the listed entry is by its own title a Li–S phase-diagram paper. Neighbouring entries 9 and 11 fit their citing sentences, so it is not a uniform numbering shift. Which reference was intended only the authors can say.
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Reference or label P. 504 says "the very slow capacity fading shown in Fig. 4b (upper red points)" for unmodified CMK-3/S, but in Fig. 4b the red CMK-3/S points are the lower series. The caption says "CMK-3/S (lower points, in red)", so this should read "lower red points".
- p. 5 Left column, end of paragraph beginning 'The mesoporous carbon clearly performs very well'
fading shown in Fig. 4b (upper red points)
- p. 4 Figure 4 caption, panel b
CMK-3/S-PEG (upper points, in black) versus CMK-3/S (lower points, in red)
- p. 5 Right column, PEG paragraph
(Fig. 4b, upper black points)
- p. 5
capacity fading shown in Fig. 4b (upper red points).
Judge's note: Fig. 4b on page 4 has one black series (about 1,320 falling to about 1,070 mA h g-1) and one red series (about 1,000 falling to about 790 mA h g-1). Red is below black at every cycle. The caption says upper = black = CMK-3/S-PEG and lower = red = CMK-3/S, and the later text says 'Fig. 4b, upper black points' for PEG. The sentence is about unmodified CMK-3/S, so 'upper' is the wrong word. This is a wrong pointer to the series; the data themselves are fine.
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Reference or label Reference 9: "Dean, J. A. (ed.) Lange’s Handbook of Chemistry 3rd edn, 3–5 (McGraw-Hill, 1985)"; the 1985 Dean/McGraw-Hill edition is reportedly the 13th, so "3rd edn" looks like a dropped digit.
- p. 6 Reference 9
Lange’s Handbook of Chemistry 3rd edn, 3–5
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: Rests on outside knowledge: that the edition of Lange's Handbook of Chemistry edited by J. A. Dean and published by McGraw-Hill in 1985 is the 13th edition. The page 6 image does print '3rd edn' with '(McGraw-Hill, 1985)'. The edition number cannot be verified from the files; authors or a library catalogue should confirm.
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Reference or label Reference 31: "Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 117, 6708–6711 (2005)" pairs the International Edition's name with what appears to be the German edition's volume and pages (Int. Ed. 2005 is volume 44).
- p. 7 Reference 31
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 117, 6708–6711 (2005)
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: Rests on outside knowledge: that volume 117 (2005) is the German-language Angewandte Chemie and that Angewandte Chemie International Edition for 2005 is volume 44. The crop of page 7 does print 'Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 117, 6708–6711 (2005)'. The volume numbering cannot be checked from the files; needs confirmation against the journal.
Second check: another model agreed · checked by hand
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8 minor (typos and the like; most checked by the judge only)
Wording The same channel-spanning carbon supports are called "carbon microfibres" in the text (p. 501: "The channel space is spanned by carbon microfibres that prevent the collapse") and "carbon nanofibres" in the Fig. 2e caption ("carbon tubes that are propped apart by carbon nanofibres").
- p. 2 Left column, CMK-3 description
The channel space is spanned by carbon microfibres
- p. 3 Figure 2 caption, panel e
carbon tubes that are propped apart by carbon nanofibres
- p. 2 p. 501, right column
carbon microfibres that prevent the collapse
- p. 3 Figure 2 caption, panel e
propped apart by carbon nanofibres
Judge's note: Checked both passages on the page images (crops C002-a and C002-b). Both describe the struts that bridge the 3–4 nm channels between the CMK-3 carbon rods/tubes, yet one calls them micro- and the other nano-fibres. 'Microfibres' may be a deliberate loose term (bridges formed in the template's micropores), so either form could be defended. It is a terminology inconsistency, not a factual error.
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Wording Text: "Only 25% of the total active mass is solubilized in the electrolyte after 30 cycles"; the black CMK-3/S-PEG curve in Fig. 4c ends at about 27% (last point at about cycle 31).
- p. 5 Right column, paragraph on Fig. 4c
Only 25% of the total active mass is solubilized
- p. 4 Figure 4c, black curve (CMK-3/S-PEG), last data point at about cycle 31
Sulphur in electrolyte/total sulphur (%)
- p. 5 Results, paragraph on Fig. 4c
Only 25% of the total active mass is solubilized in the electrolyte after 30 cycles.
Judge's note: Measured on the Fig. 4c crop: 20% tick at y≈562, 40% tick at y≈495, last black square at y≈537, giving about 27.5%. The red curve's last point reads about 96%, matching the 96% quoted in the same passage, so the axis reading is sound. The gap of about 2 points is small, is read off a plot (roughly ±1 point), and could be loose rounding; the last points are also at cycle 31 rather than 30. Minor text-versus-figure discrepancy, not a definite error.
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Typo Text says "The sulphur and carbon elemental maps (Fig. 2c, d)" but panel c is the carbon map ("C Ka1_2") and panel d the sulphur map ("S Ka1"); the caption gives "carbon and sulphur elemental maps".
- p. 2 Right column, last lines
The sulphur and carbon elemental maps (Fig. 2c, d)
- p. 3 Figure 2, panel labels and caption c,d
Corresponding carbon and sulphur elemental maps
Judge's note: Page 3 image: panel c is labelled C Ka1_2, panel d S Ka1, and the caption lists carbon then sulphur. The body text lists them in the opposite order against 'c, d'. The phrase need not be read as a respective list and the panel labels settle the meaning, so this is a cosmetic ordering point.
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Typo Misspelling on p. 501: "uses silaceous SBA-15 as a hard template"; it should read "siliceous", the spelling the paper itself uses in ref. 42 ("ordered siliceous P6mm and Ia3hd mesostructures").
- p. 2 Left column, CMK-3 synthesis description
silaceous SBA-15
- p. 7 Reference 42
ordered siliceous
- p. 2 p. 501, right column, CMK-3 synthesis
silaceous SBA-15 as a
- p. 2
uses silaceous SBA-15 as a
Judge's note: The page image (C004-a) shows 'silaceous', so this is not an extraction artefact. Reference 42 (C004-b, p. 7) uses the standard spelling 'siliceous'.
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Typo Missing word: "Positive electrodes were comprised 84 wt% CMK-3/S composite" should read "were comprised of 84 wt%" (or "comprised 84 wt%").
- p. 6 Methods, Electrochemistry, first sentence
Positive electrodes were comprised 84 wt% CMK-3/S
Judge's note: Page 6 image shows the sentence as quoted, with no 'of'; not an extraction loss. The composition itself sums correctly.
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Typo Subject–verb disagreement: "The morphology of the sulphur/CMK-3 composites were examined by SEM" should read "was examined".
- p. 6 Methods, Characterization, second paragraph
The morphology of the sulphur/CMK-3 composites were examined
Judge's note: Page 6 image, Methods, Characterization, second paragraph: printed as quoted. Singular subject with plural verb; meaning unaffected.
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Typo Reference 20: "US patent 7247,408, July 24 (2007)" has a misplaced/missing separator in the patent number (7,247,408, cf. reference 19 "US Patent 7,282,296") and lower-case "patent".
- p. 6 Reference 20
US patent 7247,408, July 24 (2007)
- p. 6 Reference 19
US Patent 7,282,296, October 16 (2007)
Judge's note: Crop of page 6 shows '7247,408' and 'US patent' in print, directly below reference 19's 'US Patent 7,282,296'. Formatting slip evident from the paper's own style.
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Typo Reference 42: space group printed as "Ia3hd" in "ordered siliceous P6mm and Ia3hd mesostructures"; should be Ia3̄d (Ia-3d), the 'h' standing in for the overbar.
- p. 7 Reference 42
P6mm and Ia3hd mesostructures
Judge's note: Crop of page 7 shows the italic letters 'Ia3hd' in print, so it is in the PDF and not a text-layer artefact. 'Ia3hd' is not a space-group symbol; the cubic symbol Ia-3d is the evident intended reading (an overbar code rendered as 'h' in typesetting).
Second check: none (judge only)