Nitrogen-doped hollow carbon@tin disulfide as a bipolar dynamic host for lithium-sulfur batteries with enhanced kinetics and cyclability

Qingye Zhao; Xinjun Bao; Lishun Meng; Shunhong Dong; Yicheng Zhang; Chen Qing; Ting Zhu; Hong-En Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.169

Nitrogen-doped hollow carbon@tin disulfide as a bipolar dynamic host for lithium-sulfur batteries with enhanced kinetics and cyclability

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Aug 15:644:546-555. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.169. Epub 2023 Mar 29.

Authors

Qingye Zhao¹, Xinjun Bao², Lishun Meng³, Shunhong Dong¹, Yicheng Zhang⁴, Chen Qing¹, Ting Zhu¹, Hong-En Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Physics and Electronics Information, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Technique & Preparation for Renewable Energy Materials, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Normal University, 650500 Kunming, Yunnan, China.
² School of Textile and Fashion, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Xiangtan 411104, China.
³ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
⁴ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Normal University, 650500 Kunming, Yunnan, China.
⁵ College of Physics and Electronics Information, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Technique & Preparation for Renewable Energy Materials, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Normal University, 650500 Kunming, Yunnan, China. Electronic address: hongen.wang@ynnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37012112
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.169

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are promising next-generation electrochemical energy storage systems owing to high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mAh/g) and low cost. However, the shuttling effect of soluble polysulfides with slow conversion kinetics has deferred their commercial applications. The feasible design and synthesis of composite cathode hosts offer a promise solution to improving their electrochemical performances. In this work, tin disulfide (SnS₂) nanosheets were anchored on nitrogen-doped hollow carbon with mesoporous shells, forming a bipolar dynamic host ("SnS₂@NHCS"). It can efficiently confine the polysulfides and promote their conversion during (dis)charge. The as-assembled LSBs delivered a high capacity, superior rate and cyclability. This work presents a new view on the exploration of novel composite electrode materials for various rechargeable batteries with emerging applications.

Keywords: Cathode host; DFT; Density functional theory; Lithium sulfur batteries; Nitrogen-doped hollow carbon; Shuttle effect; Tin disulfides.