Strong Lithium Polysulfide Chemisorption on Electroactive Sites of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Composites For High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Battery Cathodes
Despite the high theoretical capacity of lithium–sulfur batteries, their practical applications are severely hindered by a fast capacity decay, stemming from the dissolution and diffusion of lithium polysulfides in the electrolyte. A novel functional carbon composite (carbon-nanotube-interpenetrated mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres, MNCS/CNT), which can strongly adsorb lithium polysulfides, is now reported to act as a sulfur host. The nitrogen functional groups of this composite enable the effective trapping of lithium polysulfides on electroactive sites within the cathode, leading to a much improved electrochemical performance (1200 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles). The enhancement in adsorption can be attributed to the chemical bonding of lithium ions by nitrogen functional groups in the MNCS/CNT framework. Furthermore, the micrometer-sized spherical structure of the material yields a high areal capacity (ca. 6 mAh cm-2) with a high sulfur loading of approximately 5 mg cm-2, which is ideal for practical applications of the lithium–sulfur batteries.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) - Office of FreedomCar and Vehicle Technologies
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1244990
- Journal Information:
- Angewandte Chemie (International Edition), Vol. 54, Issue 14; ISSN 1433-7851
- Publisher:
- Wiley
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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