Developing the conductive and catalytic composite interface is an efficient way to boost up the conversion of lithium polysulfide (LiPSs) that can effectively resolve the shuttle effect. Besides, achieving the high performance with low metal loading has practical significance for the commercialization of lithium–sulfur (Li−S) batteries. Herein, the chainmail catalyst of Fe3O4@C/CNTO was prepared by annealing the iron phthalocyanine (FePc)/oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTO) precursor in which FePc was used as iron and carbon sources and CNTO was functionalized as oxygen source and catalyst support. The conductive composite catalyst with low metal loading (5.4 wt%) was applied into the coating layer of Celgard separator with duplex functions in trapping and catalyzing intercepted LiPSs for high‐performance Li−S batteries. This work can help us to understand the importance of conductive and catalytic composite interface for promotion of LiPSs conversion and also offer a more feasible synthesis method of electrocatalyst for other energy storage systems.
The cover picture shows that the chainmail catalyst of Fe3O4@C/CNTO (CNTO=oxidized carbon nanotubes) with low metal loading was innovatively constructed and applied into the coating layer of a Celgard separator for Li‐S battery. Fe3O4 serves as the active site to promote the interconversion of lithium polysulfides; the carbon‐shell‐encapsulated Fe3O4 leads to an integrated 3D architecture with the CNTO support to provide a continuous pathway for facile electron transport. Benefiting from the catalytic and conductive composite interface, the battery with the Fe3O4@C/CNTO‐modified separator delivers a satisfactory specific capacity and excellent stability. Cover picture designed by Dongfang Niu. More information can be found in the Full Paper by Dongfang Niu et al. (DOI: 10.1002/slct.202000366)
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