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Embedding tin disulfide nanoparticles in two-dimensional porous carbon nanosheet interlayers for fast-charging lithium-sulfur batteries

二硫化锡纳米颗粒嵌入二维多孔碳纳米片中间层用于快充锂硫电池

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Abstract

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted significant attention for their high specific capacity, non-toxic and harmless advantages. However, the shuttle effect limits their development. In this work, small-sized tin disulfide (SnS2) nanoparticles are embedded between interlayers of two-dimensional porous carbon nanosheets (PCNs), forming a multi-functional nanocomposite (PCN-SnS2) as a cathode carrier for Li-S batteries. The graphitized carbon nanosheets improve the overall conductivity of the electrode, and the abundant pores not only facilitate ion transfer and electrolyte permeation, but also buffer the volume change during the charge and discharge process to ensure the integrity of the electrode material. More importantly, the physical confinement of PCN, as well as the strong chemical adsorption and catalytic reaction of small SnS2 nanoparticles, synergistically reduce the shuttle effect of polysulfides. The interaction between a porous layered structure and physical-chemical confinement gives the PCN-SnS2-S electrode high electrochemical performance. Even at a high rate of 2 C, a discharge capacity of 650 mA h g−1 is maintained after 150 cycles, underscoring the positive results of SnS2 based materials for Li S batteries. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique results further confirm that the PCN-SnS2-S electrode has a high Li+ transmission rate, which reduces the activation barrier and improves the electrochemical reaction kinetics. This work provides strong evidence that reducing the size of SnS2 nanostructures is beneficial for capturing and reacting with polysulfides to alleviate their shuttle effect in Li-S batteries.

摘要

本文报道了将小尺寸二硫化锡(SnS2)纳米颗粒嵌入到二维多孔碳纳米片(PCN)中间层, 形成多功能纳米复合材料(PCN-SnS2)作为硫正极载体, 从而降低穿梭效应, 实现锂硫电池快充. 一方面, 复合材料中石墨化碳纳米片可整体性提高电极的导电性. 另一方面, 复合材料丰富的孔道既促进离子转移和电解质的渗透, 又缓解充放电过程中的体积变化, 从而确保电极材料的完整性. 特别地, PCN的物理限域和小尺寸SnS2纳米颗粒的强化学吸附协同作用可有效降低多硫化物的穿梭效应. 因此, PCN-SnS2-S电极具有良好的电化学性能, 即使在2 C的高电流密度下, 150圈循环后仍可维持 650 mA h g−1的放电容量. 本研究工作为小尺寸SnS2纳米结构更利于捕获多硫化物以减弱锂硫电池的穿梭效应提供了理论基础.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFA0202602), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1663225), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020-YB-009), the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (6611, ASRT, Egypt), the 111 National project (B20002) from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education, China and Sinopec Ministry of Science and Technology Basic Prospective Research Project (217027-5 and 218025-9).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Na Zhou  (周娜), Wen-Da Dong  (董文达), Yun-Jing Zhang  (张云静), Di Wang  (王迪), Liang Wu  (吴亮), Lang Wang  (王浪), Zhi-Yi Hu  (胡执一), Jing Liu  (刘婧), Hemdan S. H. Mohamed, Yu Li  (李昱), Li-Hua Chen  (陈丽华) & Bao-Lian Su  (苏宝连)

  2. Nanostructure Research Center (NRC), Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Lang Wang  (王浪), Zhi-Yi Hu  (胡执一) & Yu Li  (李昱)

  3. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Fayoum University, El Gomhoria Street, 63514, Fayoum, Egypt

    Hemdan S. H. Mohamed

  4. Laboratory of Inorganic Materials Chemistry (CMI), University of Namur, 61 rue de Bruxelles, B-5000, Namur, Belgium

    Bao-Lian Su  (苏宝连)

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  1. Na Zhou  (周娜)
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  2. Wen-Da Dong  (董文达)
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Contributions

Author contributions Li Y and Su BL conceived the idea of this work. Zhou N, Dong WD, Zhang YJ, Wang D, and Mohamed HSH carried out the materials synthesis and characterized the performances of materials. Wu L and Liu J performed the SEM observations. Wang L and Hu ZY carried out the TEM observations. Dong WD performed the DFT calculation. Zhou N and Li Y wrote the manuscript. Li Y, Chen LH, and Su BL together discussed and revised the manuscript. Li Y supervised the project.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yu Li  (李昱) or Bao-Lian Su  (苏宝连).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Na Zhou is a MSc candidate under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Bao-Lian Su and Prof. Dr. Yu Li at the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology. Her research direction is the design of hierarchically porous materials for Li-S batteries.

Wen-Da Dong received his MSc degree from the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology. He is currently a PhD candidate and his research focuses on the design of micro/nano-composite materials for Li-Se and Na-Se batteries.

Yu Li received his BSc degree from Xi’an Jiaotong University in 1999 and his MSc from Liaoning Shihua University in 2002. He obtained his PhD from Zhejiang University in 2005. He worked in electron microscopy for materials science (EMAT) at the University of Antwerp with Prof. G. Vantendeloo in 2005 and then in the Laboratory of Inorganic Materials Chemistry (CMI) at the University of Namur with Prof. Bao-Lian Su in 2006. Currently, he is a full-time professor at Wuhan University of Technology. His research interests include nanomaterials design and synthesis, hierarchically porous materials synthesis, and their applications in the fundamental aspects of energy and environment.

Bao-Lian Su created the CMI at the University of Namur, Belgium in 1995. He is currently a full professor of chemistry, member of the Royal Academy of Belgium, fellow of the Royal of Society of Chemistry, UK and Life Member of Clare Hall College and University of Cambridge. He is also Cheung Kong Professor and a strategy scientist at Wuhan University of Technology, China. His current research fields include the synthesis, the property study and the molecular engineering of organized, hierarchically porous and bio-organisms for artificial photosynthesis, (photo) catalysis, energy conversion and storage, biotechnology, cell therapy and biomedical applications.

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Zhou, N., Dong, WD., Zhang, YJ. et al. Embedding tin disulfide nanoparticles in two-dimensional porous carbon nanosheet interlayers for fast-charging lithium-sulfur batteries. Sci. China Mater. 64, 2697–2709 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1669-9

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