Nb₂O₅-Decorated Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube Microspheres for Highly Efficient Sulfur Confinement in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

To confine the intermediate polysulfides to obstruct their dissolution from the electrolyte and increase the utilization of sulfur, a novel sulfur host for decorated nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (NCNTs) microspheres was produced by a terse ultrasonic spraying with succedent impregnation methods. Decoration effects for Nb2O5 are better than those for Sb. Nb2O5–NCNTs microspheres are woolen-like uniform balls which are twined with CNTs and infiltrated Nb2O5 nanoparticles. Then Nb2O5–NCNTs microspheres deliver the high initial charge and discharge capacities of 1369.5 and 1335.3 mAh g–1, good cycle stability of 1201.7 mAh g–1 at 0.1 C after 200 cycles, and outstanding long-term cycle life of 846.2 mAh g–1 after 1000 cycles at 2.0 C with a very low capacity decay of 0.016% per cycle. The Nb2O5–NCNTs microspheres with remarkable effects for sulfur confinement are a potential cathode material for lithium–sulfur batteries.

Engineering the Conductive Network of Metal Oxide‐Based Sulfur Cathode toward Efficient and Longevous Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…Thus, metal-carbon hybrids or composites provide great opportunities to simultaneously address the multiple obstacles in sulfur electrochemistry. [31][32][33] Accordingly, rational construction or structural design of these hybrid materials is essential for the development of efficient sulfur cathode. This…”

“…Thus, metal–carbon hybrids or composites provide great opportunities to simultaneously address the multiple obstacles in sulfur electrochemistry. [ 31–33 ] Accordingly, rational construction or structural design of these hybrid materials is essential for the development of efficient sulfur cathode. This requires the cathode host materials to be equipped with sufficient porosity, favorable chemical sulfur affinity, and good structural stability during charge–discharge cycling.…”

Fabrication of NiO–carbon nanotube/sulfur composites for lithium-sulfur battery application

“…In the past, massive efforts have been carried out to address these obstacles to boost the performance of LSBs. 6,7 Some novel cathode nanocomposites based on the carbon series are proposed, such as carbon nanobers, 8,9 carbon nanotubes, 10,11 graphene/ grapheme oxides, 12,13 mesoporous/microporous carbon, 14,15 and core-shell carbon structures. 16,17 As the host of the sulfur electrodes, although carbon-based cathode nanocomposites have presented a positive effect on improving the cycle life and sulfur loading content due to their high electrical conductivity, the existed weak interaction between polar polysulde and non-polar carbon in LSBs still suffers from a low coulombic efficiency and poor long-term cycling performance.…”

Constructing a Multifunctional Globular Polypyrrole Slurry Cladding Carbon Aerogel/Sulfur Cathode for High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…However, these efforts cannot effectively inhibit LiPSs migrating in the electrolyte through physical adsorption. Furthermore, the combination of LiPSs with metal compounds − or conductive polymers , can effectively inhibit the dissolution and migration of LiPSs, leading to relatively high cycling performance. The modification of the electrolyte and the guarding of lithium anode are also effective methods to improve the cycle performance of Li–S batteries.…”