Open AccessDual Role of Mo 6 S 8 in Polysulfide Conversion and Shuttle for Mg–S Batteries
Author(s) -
Wang Liping,
Jankowski Piotr,
Njel Christian,
Bauer Werner,
Li Zhenyou,
Meng Zhen,
Dasari Bosubabu,
Vegge Tejs,
Lastra Juan Maria García,
ZhaoKarger Zhirong,
Fichtner Maximilian
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202104605
Subject(s) - polysulfide , faraday efficiency , separator (oil production) , sulfur , materials science , battery (electricity) , density functional theory , energy storage , magnesium , electrode , lithium–sulfur battery , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , electrochemistry , electrolyte , metallurgy , thermodynamics , engineering , computational chemistry , power (physics) , physics
Magnesium–Sulfur batteries are one of most appealing options among the post‐lithium battery systems due to its potentially high energy density, safe and sustainable electrode materials. The major practical challenges are originated from the soluble magnesium polysulfide intermediates and their shuttling between the electrodes, which cause high overpotentials, low sulfur utilization, and poor Coulombic efficiency. Herein, a functional Mo 6 S 8 modified separator is designed to effectively address these issues. Both the experimental results and density functional theory calculations show that the electrochemically active Mo 6 S 8 layer has a superior adsorption capability of polysulfides and simultaneously acts as a mediator to accelerate the polysulfide conversion kinetics. Remarkably, the magnesium–sulfur cell assembled with the functional separator delivers a high specific energy density (942.9 mA h g −1 in the 1st cycle) and can be cycled at 0.2 C for 200 cycles with a Coulombic efficiency of 96%. This work demonstrates a new design concept toward high‐performance metal–sulfur batteries.