Viologen-based ionic conjugated mesoporous polymer as the electron conveyer for efficient polysulfide trapping and conversion

Hai-Yang Li; Zhong-Shan Li; Gang-Hao Qiu; Rou-Rou Zhang; Ya-Rui Wang; Feng Wang; Ren-Wu Huang; Xiao-Fei Liu; Shuang-Quan Zang

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2024.01.016

Viologen-based ionic conjugated mesoporous polymer as the electron conveyer for efficient polysulfide trapping and conversion

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2024 Apr 30;69(8):1071-1080. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.01.016. Epub 2024 Jan 17.

Authors

Hai-Yang Li¹, Zhong-Shan Li¹, Gang-Hao Qiu¹, Rou-Rou Zhang¹, Ya-Rui Wang¹, Feng Wang¹, Ren-Wu Huang¹, Xiao-Fei Liu², Shuang-Quan Zang³

Affiliations

¹ Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, Key Laboratory of Special Environmental Functional Materials (Zhengzhou University), Ministry of Education, Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
² Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, Key Laboratory of Special Environmental Functional Materials (Zhengzhou University), Ministry of Education, Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China. Electronic address: liuxiaofei@zzu.edu.cn.
³ Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, Key Laboratory of Special Environmental Functional Materials (Zhengzhou University), Ministry of Education, Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China. Electronic address: zangsqzg@zzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38302332
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.01.016

Abstract

The commercialization of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries has been hindered by the shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). Herein, we reported a viologen-based ionic conjugated mesoporous polymer (TpV-Cl), which acts as the cathode host for modifying Li-S batteries. The viologen component serves as a reversible electron conveyer, leading to a comprehensive enhancement in the adsorption of polysulfides and improved conversion rate of polysulfides during the electrochemical process. As a result, the S@TpV-PS cathode exhibits outstanding cycling performance, achieving 300 cycles at 2.0 C (1 C = 1675 mA g^-¹) with low decay rate of 0.032% per cycle. Even at a high sulfur loading of 4.0 mg cm^-², S@TpV-PS shows excellent cycling stability with a Coulombic efficiency of up to 98%. These results highlight the significant potential of S@TpV-PS in developing high-performance Li-S batteries.

Keywords: Conjugated mesoporous polymer; Lithium-sulfur battery; Polysulfide; Shuttle effect; Viologen.