Fabricating Multifunctional Nanoparticle Membranes by a Fast   Layer-by-Layer Langmuir-Blodgett Process: Application in Lithium-sulfur   Batteries
  The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique is a powerful, widely used method for preparing coatings of amphiphilic molecules at air/water interfaces with thickness control down to a single molecule. Here we report two new LB techniques designed to create ordered, multifunctional nanoparticle films on any non-reactive support. The methods utilize Marangoni stresses produced by surfactants at a fluid/solid/gas interface and self-assembly of nanoparticles to facilitate rapid creation of dense monolayers of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), metal-oxide nanoparticles, polymers, and combinations of these materials in a layer-by-layer configuration. Using the polyolefin separator in a lithium sulfur (Li-S) electrochemical cell as an example, we illustrate how the method can be used to create structured membranes for regulating mass and charge transport. We show that a layered MWCNT/SiO2/MWCNT nanomaterial created in a clip-like configuration, with gravimetric areal coverage of ~130 mg cm-2 and a thickness of ~3 micron, efficiently adsorbs dissolved lithium polysulfide (LiPS) species and efficiently reutilize them for improving Li-S battery performance. 
Mun Sek Kim, Lin Ma, Snehashis Choudhury, Surya S. Moganty, Shuya Wei,   and Lynden A. Archer
physics.chem-ph