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Strong Lithium Polysulfide Chemisorption on Electroactive Sites of Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Composites For High‐Performance Lithium–Sulfur Battery Cathodes
Author(s) -
Song Jiangxuan,
Gordin Mikhail L.,
Xu Terrence,
Chen Shuru,
Yu Zhaoxin,
Sohn Hiesang,
Lu Jun,
Ren Yang,
Duan Yuhua,
Wang Donghai
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201411109
Subject(s) - polysulfide , lithium (medication) , carbon fibers , sulfur , electrolyte , materials science , lithium–sulfur battery , inorganic chemistry , electrochemistry , cathode , composite number , mesoporous material , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite material , electrode , organic chemistry , catalysis , medicine , engineering , endocrinology
Despite the high theoretical capacity of lithium–sulfur batteries, their practical applications are severely hindered by a fast capacity decay, stemming from the dissolution and diffusion of lithium polysulfides in the electrolyte. A novel functional carbon composite (carbon‐nanotube‐interpenetrated mesoporous nitrogen‐doped carbon spheres, MNCS/CNT), which can strongly adsorb lithium polysulfides, is now reported to act as a sulfur host. The nitrogen functional groups of this composite enable the effective trapping of lithium polysulfides on electroactive sites within the cathode, leading to a much improved electrochemical performance (1200 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles). The enhancement in adsorption can be attributed to the chemical bonding of lithium ions by nitrogen functional groups in the MNCS/CNT framework. Furthermore, the micrometer‐sized spherical structure of the material yields a high areal capacity (ca. 6 mAh cm −2 ) with a high sulfur loading of approximately 5 mg cm −2 , which is ideal for practical applications of the lithium–sulfur batteries.