N doped FeP nanospheres decorated carbon matrix as an efficient electrocatalyst for durable lithium-sulfur batteries

Sidra Jamil; Han Wang; Muhammad Fasehullah; Muhammad Kashif Aslam; Bushra Jabar; Muhammad Aizaz Ud Din; Yi Zhang; Wei Sun; Shujuan Bao; Maowen Xu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.09.126

N doped FeP nanospheres decorated carbon matrix as an efficient electrocatalyst for durable lithium-sulfur batteries

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Jan 15;630(Pt A):70-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.09.126. Epub 2022 Oct 3.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Chongqing Key Lab for Advanced Materials and Clean Energies of Technologies, School of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment & System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
³ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Laser Technology and Optoelectronic Functional Materials of Hainan Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China.
⁵ Chongqing Key Lab for Advanced Materials and Clean Energies of Technologies, School of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. Electronic address: baoshj@swu.edu.cn.
⁶ Chongqing Key Lab for Advanced Materials and Clean Energies of Technologies, School of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. Electronic address: xumaowen@swu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36215825
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.09.126

Abstract

Rational design and synthesis of multifunctional electrocatalysts with high electrochemical activity and low cost are significantly important for new-generation lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, N-doped FeP nanospheres decorated N doped carbon matrix is successfully synthesized by facile one-pot pyrolysis and in-situ phosphorization technique to mitigate the conversion kinetics and suppress the shuttle effect. The large specific surface area with mesopores can incorporate up to 81.5% sulfur, with the conductive carbon and nitrogen co-matrix providing Li⁺/e^- passage and fastening the redox kinetics. The remarkable adsorption properties and the electrocatalytic activity through physical confinement and chemical immobilization is thoroughly verified. Consequently, the FeP/CN@S deliver a high reversible capacity of 1183 mAh g^-1 at 0.1C compared to Co/P/CN@S (961 mAh g^-1); whereas, at 1C, a negligible decay rate of 0.04% is observed for 1000 cycles, possessing outstanding cycling stability and rate capability. Hence, the cost-effective in-situ phosphorization strategy to synthesize FeP/CN@S as an efficient nanoreactor is constructive to be applied in Li-S batteries.

Keywords: Carbon matrix; Electrocatalytic effect; In-situ phosphorization; Li-S batteries; Metal phosphide.