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High-performance lithium–sulfur batteries using hierarchical Fe2O3/Ketjen black composites as sulfur host materials

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Abstract

The polysulfide shuttle effect limits the wide application of lithium–sulfur batteries, which have high energy density and specific capacity. In this work, hierarchical Fe2O3/Ketjen black (HFO/KB) composites are developed to improve the cycle performance of Li–S batteries. The HFO/KB hosts exhibit strong chemical adsorption toward polysulfide, which can effectively suppress the lithium polysulfide shuttle effect and further improve the utilization of active sulfur. As a result, lithium–sulfur batteries with Fe2O3/Ketjen black@S (HFO/KB@S) cathode deliver an initial discharge capacity of 1356 mAh/g and retain a high capacity of 1021 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 0.2 C. At the high rate of 2 C, the HFO/KB@S cathode exhibits a high capacity of 761 mAh/g after 500 cycles. This work demonstrates that the HFO/KB@S composites are promising cathode for future commercial applications of lithium–sulfur batteries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Xijing University, Xi’an, 710123, China

    Jian Huang

  2. Xi’an Traffic Engineering Institute, Xi’an, 710300, China

    Sanfeng Dong & Guokun Xie

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  1. Jian Huang
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  2. Sanfeng Dong
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  3. Guokun Xie
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Huang, J., Dong, S. & Xie, G. High-performance lithium–sulfur batteries using hierarchical Fe2O3/Ketjen black composites as sulfur host materials. Ionics 28, 4129–4134 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-022-04680-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-022-04680-7

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