Open AccessNi‐CeO 2 Heterostructures in Li‐S Batteries: A Balancing Act between Adsorption and Catalytic Conversion of Polysulfide
Author(s) -
Kong Yang,
Ao Xin,
Huang Xiao,
Bai Jinglong,
Zhao Shangquan,
Zhang Jinyong,
Tian Bingbing
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.202105538
Subject(s) - polysulfide , heterojunction , cathode , materials science , adsorption , chemical engineering , catalysis , lithium (medication) , nanofiber , sulfur , redox , energy storage , carbon nanofiber , conductivity , electrode , nanotechnology , chemistry , optoelectronics , carbon nanotube , electrolyte , organic chemistry , metallurgy , medicine , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , endocrinology
Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have attracted considerable attention over the last two decades because of a high energy density and low cost. However, the wide application of Li–S batteries has been severely impeded due to the poor electrical conductivity of S, shuttling effect of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), and sluggish redox kinetics of S species, especially under high S loading. To address all these issues, a Ni–CeO 2 heterostructure‐doped carbon nanofiber (Ni‐CeO 2 ‐CNF) is developed as an S host that combines the strong adsorption with the high catalytic activity and the good electrical conductivity, where the LiPSs anchored on the heterostructure surface can directly gain electrons from the current collector and realize a fast conversion between S 8 and Li 2 S. Therefore, Li–S batteries with S@Ni‐CeO 2 ‐CNF cathodes exhibit superior long‐term cycling stability, with a capacity decay of 0.046% per cycle over 1000 cycles, even at 2 C. Noteworthy, under a sulfur loading up to 6 mg cm −2 , a high reversible areal capacity of 5.3 mAh cm −2 can be achieved after 50 cycles at 0.1 C. The heterostructure‐modified S cathode effectively reconciles the thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of LiPSs for adsorption and conversion, furthering the development of high‐performance Li–S batteries.