Rational design of Co 4 N nanoparticle loaded porous carbon as a sulfur matrix for advanced lithium-sulfur batteries

• Published in: Dalton transactions : an international journal of inorganic chemistry 2021-01, Vol.50 (1), p.116-123
• Main Authors: Yu, Yuan, Zhen, Shunying, Cao, Shishi, Wu, Peisen, Ma, Guozheng, Li, Aiju, Zhang, Jiandong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/D0DT03380D

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have a high specific capacity of 1675 mAh g and are considered to be a promising next-generation energy storage system. A sulfur host for loading Co N nanoparticles into porous carbon has been designed as the cathode for high-performance Li-S batteries. The porous carbon successfully confines sulfur and Co N in the pores, and the synergistic effect of physical and chemical adsorption can effectively inhibit the dissolution and diffusion of polysulfides. Besides, the Co N nanoparticles can also catalyze the redox reaction kinetics. At a current density of 0.5 C, S@KJ-Co N cathodes deliver a high specific discharge capacity of 958.3 mAh g and retain at 784.0 mAh g after 200 cycles, corresponding to a decay rate of 0.09% per cycle. It is believed that this work can provide a promising strategy for the design of many energy storage systems.