TY - JOUR
T1 - Double-shelled Co3O4/C nanocages enabling polysulfides adsorption for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries
AU - Zhou, Lei
AU - Li, Hao
AU - Wu, Xiaochao
AU - Zhang, Yue
AU - Danilov, Dmitri L.
AU - Eichel, Rüdiger A.
AU - Notten, Peter H.L.
PY - 2019/11/25
Y1 - 2019/11/25
N2 - Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, which originate from the merits of extraordinary theoretical specific energy density, abundant resources, and eco-friendly character, have received ever-growing attention. However, their practical applications are seriously hampered because of the poor conductive property of the sulfur and the discharging products, severe dissolution and migration of lithium polysulfide intermediates, and huge volumetric variation of sulfur particles upon cycling. Here, double-shelled Co3O4 and carbon (Co3O4/C) hollow nanocages as sulfur host materials are reported. The double-shelled structures can significantly boost the adsorption of soluble polysulfides and the electrical conductivity of sulfur cathodes. Consequently, the prepared S@Co3O4/C cathodes achieve considerable capacity enhancement and excellent rate capability, combining the durable cycling life at 1 C for 500 cycles, in which the overall capacity fading remains as low as 0.083% per cycle. Upper-plateau (QH) and lower-plateau (QL) capacities, static adsorption of polysulfides, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses unveil the underlying nature of the chemical interactions between polysulfide species and the sulfur host. The present results will favor the design and screening of prospective host materials to boost future Li-S batteries.
AB - Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, which originate from the merits of extraordinary theoretical specific energy density, abundant resources, and eco-friendly character, have received ever-growing attention. However, their practical applications are seriously hampered because of the poor conductive property of the sulfur and the discharging products, severe dissolution and migration of lithium polysulfide intermediates, and huge volumetric variation of sulfur particles upon cycling. Here, double-shelled Co3O4 and carbon (Co3O4/C) hollow nanocages as sulfur host materials are reported. The double-shelled structures can significantly boost the adsorption of soluble polysulfides and the electrical conductivity of sulfur cathodes. Consequently, the prepared S@Co3O4/C cathodes achieve considerable capacity enhancement and excellent rate capability, combining the durable cycling life at 1 C for 500 cycles, in which the overall capacity fading remains as low as 0.083% per cycle. Upper-plateau (QH) and lower-plateau (QL) capacities, static adsorption of polysulfides, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses unveil the underlying nature of the chemical interactions between polysulfide species and the sulfur host. The present results will favor the design and screening of prospective host materials to boost future Li-S batteries.
KW - chemical adsorption
KW - double-shelled structure
KW - lithium-sulfur batteries
KW - metal oxides
KW - polysulfides
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075079323&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsaem.9b01621
DO - 10.1021/acsaem.9b01621
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075079323
VL - 2
SP - 8153
EP - 8162
JO - ACS Applied Energy Materials
JF - ACS Applied Energy Materials
SN - 2574-0962
IS - 11
ER -