Mesoporous N-rich carbon with single-Ni atoms as a multifunctional sulfur host for Li-S batteries

Physicochemical confinement and catalytic conversion of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) are crucial to suppress the shuttle effect and enhance the redox kinetics of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In this study, a NH4Cl-assisted pyrolysis strategy is developed to fabricate highly mesoporous N-rich car...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Li, Yunxiang, Zeng, Yinxiang, Chen, Ye, Luan, Deyan, Gao, Shuyan, Lou, Xiong Wen David
Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166120
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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Summary:Physicochemical confinement and catalytic conversion of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) are crucial to suppress the shuttle effect and enhance the redox kinetics of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In this study, a NH4Cl-assisted pyrolysis strategy is developed to fabricate highly mesoporous N-rich carbon (designed as NC(p)) featuring thin outer shells and porous inner networks, on which single-Ni atoms are anchored to form an excellent sulfur host (designed as Ni-NC(p)) for Li-S batteries. During pyrolysis, the pyrolytic HCl from confined NH4Cl within ZIF-8 will in situ etch ZIF-8 to produce rich mesoporous in the carbonized product NC(p). The mesoporous Ni-NC(p) enables favorable electron/ion transfer, high sulfur loading, and effective confinement of LiPSs, while the catalytic effect of single-Ni species enhances the redox kinetics of LiPSs. As a result, the sulfur cathode based on the Ni-NC(p) host delivers obviously improved Li-S battery performance with high specific capacity, good rate capability, and cycling stability.