ZnSe/N-Doped Carbon Nanoreactor with Multiple Adsorption Sites for Stable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

The inhibition of this polysulfide shuttle effect and the promotion of the redox reaction kinetics remains as the key material challenges of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) to be urgently solved.Here we report a new architecture for the cathode material based on nanoreactor of ZnSe/Ndoped hollow carbon (ZnSe/NHC). This material combination and the hollow geometry provide three key benefits to the LSBs cathode: i) The combination of lithiophilic sites of NHC and sulfiphilic sites of ZnSe effectively trap LiPS as demonstrated by experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations; ii) In part related to this promoted adsorption, the ZnSe/NHC material combination is able to facilitate the Li + diffusion, thus promoting the redox reaction kinetics; iii) The hollow nanoreactor design traps LiPS and accommodates volumetric expansion preventing the cathode material decomposition. As a result, LSBs cathodes based on this hybrid material, S@ZnSe/NHC, are characterized by high initial capacities, 1475 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C and 542 mAh g −1 at 3 C, and excellent rate capability. Besides, these cathodes deliver stable operation with only 0.022% capacity decay per cycle after 800 cycles at 3 C. Even at high sulfur loading of 3.2 mg cm −2 , a reversible capacity of 540.5 mAh g −1 is delivered after 600 cycles at 1 C. Overall, this work not only further demonstrates the large potential of transitionmetal selenides as cathode materials in LSBs, but also demonstrates the nanoreactor design to be a highly suitable architecture to enhance cycle stability.

NbSe2 Meets C2N: A 2D‐2D Heterostructure Catalysts as Multifunctional Polysulfide Mediator in Ultra‐Long‐Life Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…08–0247). [ 14,40 ] Scanning TEM (STEM) and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) compositional maps further demonstrated the homogeneous loading of sulfur within C 2 N@NbSe 2 composites (Figure 1i). The amount of sulfur was quantified using TGA at ca.…”

“…This shift is associated with the binding of N heteroatoms in C 2 N with Lewis base character, with Li atoms in Li 2 S 4 having Lewis acid character. [ 40 ]…”

In Situ Construction of Mo2C Quantum Dots‐Decorated CNT Networks as a Multifunctional Electrocatalyst for Advanced Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…As discussed above, although some polar catalysts, such as ZnSe, [31] Co 9 S 8 [32] display eminent adsorption for LiPSs, their low conductivity and the small exposure of catalytic active sites limit the conversion of LiPSs on its surface. To overcome the drawbacks, the Mo 2 C/CNT hybrid is proposed where the CNT plays as a high conductor and the Mo 2 C works as the polar catalysts as shown in Figure S1c in the Supporting Information which illustrates an effective design of the Mo 2 C@CNT nanoarchitecture constructed by homogenously and tightly anchored Mo 2 C QDs on CNT networks.…”

Integrated Design of Interlayer/Current‐Collector: Heteronanowires Decorated Carbon Microtube Fabric for High‐Loading and Lean‐Electrolyte Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…In addition, the excellent conversion reversibility is verified by the well‐overlapped CV curves from the second to the fifth cycle (Figure S8, Supporting Information). [ 24 ] As a result, the rate capacities of the CCC@TiO 2 ‐TiN based LSBs are improved significantly because of the accelerated kinetics redox. In Figure 2f, the discharge capacity of CCC@TiO 2 ‐TiN based LSB at the 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 5 C is 1455.1, 1287.5, 1160.5, 1051.1, 929.2, 846.9, and 732.7 mAh g −1 , respectively.…”