Ni3FeN functionalized carbon nanofibers boosting polysulfide conversion for Li-S chemistry

Lufu Xu; Huani Li; Genfu Zhao; Yongjiang Sun; Han Wang; Hong Guo

doi:10.1039/d1ra09041k

Ni₃FeN functionalized carbon nanofibers boosting polysulfide conversion for Li-S chemistry

RSC Adv. 2022 Mar 2;12(11):6930-6937. doi: 10.1039/d1ra09041k. eCollection 2022 Feb 22.

Authors

Lufu Xu¹, Huani Li¹, Genfu Zhao¹, Yongjiang Sun¹, Han Wang¹, Hong Guo¹

Affiliation

¹ School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University Kunming 650091 China guohong@ynu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Limiting the shuttle effect of polysulfides is an important means to realizing high energy density lithium-sulfur batteries (Li-S). In this study, an efficient electrocatalyst (CNFs@Ni₃FeN) is synthesized by anchoring Ni₃FeN in the carbon nanofibers (CNFs). The CNFs@Ni₃FeN shows electrocatalytic activity and enhances the conversion of polysulfides. After assembling a battery, a high initial capacity (1452 mA h g^-1) and favorable long-time cycling stability (100 cycles) with a capacity retention rate of 83% are obtained by the electrocatalysis of Ni₃FeN. Compared with unmodified CNFs, the cycling stability of CNFs@Ni₃FeN can be greatly improved. The catalytic mechanism is further deduced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Our work will inspire the rational design of CNFs@support hybrids for various electrocatalysis applications.