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N-doped mesoporous-carbon polyhedron as an effective sulfur host for lithium–sulfur batteries

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Abstract

An effective sulfur host material of N-doped mesoporous-carbon polyhedron (NMCP) was derived from zeolitic imidazolate framework-8. We prepared an NMCP/S composite by sublimating sulfur into NMCP. As a Li–S battery cathode, the NMCP/S composite delivers a high initial capacity of 1308 mAh·g−1 at 50 mA·g−1, a stable reversible capacity of 496.3 mAh·g−1 after 150 cycles at 400 mA·g−1, and an excellent rate capacity of 639 mAh·g−1 at 800 mA·g−1. The excellent electrochemical performance is ascribed to the unique 3D carbon matrix. The mesoporous-carbon polyhedron structure ensures fast electron/ion diffusion and provides large free space for volumetric expansion of sulfur during repeated charge/discharge. Furthermore, nitrogen doping enhances conductivity and interaction between carbon host and polysulfide guest via chemical binding, which can suppress the shuttle of polysulfides to a certain extent.

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Funding

This work is supported by the foundation of Henan Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. 162300410315), foundation for young teachers of 2012 Henan Province colleges and universities (GGJS-116), foundation of Zhengzhou science and technology (No. 20150441), and scientific research foundation of Zhengzhou University of Light Industry in 2015 (No.2015XJJZ036).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science, School of Material and Chemical Engineering, ZhengzhouUniversity of Light Industry, Zhengzhou, 450002, China

    Linsen Zhang, Shanshan Zhu, Xiaofeng Li, Hua Fang, Aiqing Zhang, Haili Gao & Yanhua Song

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  1. Linsen Zhang
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  2. Shanshan Zhu
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  3. Xiaofeng Li
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  4. Hua Fang
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Correspondence to Linsen Zhang.

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Zhang, L., Zhu, S., Li, X. et al. N-doped mesoporous-carbon polyhedron as an effective sulfur host for lithium–sulfur batteries. Ionics 25, 1117–1122 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-018-2772-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-018-2772-3

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