Multifunctional effect of carbon matrix with sulfur dopant inspires mixed metal sulfide as freestanding anode in sodium-ion batteries

• Main Authors: Zhang, Peilin, Huang, Kang, Zhu, Siyu, Xiu, Mingzhen, Cao, Xun, Huang, Chen, Huang, Yizhong, Chen, Luyang
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2025
• Subjects: Engineering; Carbon matrix with S dopant; Freestanding anode
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182938
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

As active materials for large-radius Na+ storage, metal sulfide (MS) anodes still face several challenges, including poor intrinsic electric conductivity, severe volume change along with the shuttle and dissolution effects of discharge-produced polysulfides. In this work, the mixed nickel-manganese sulfides (NiMnS) in the morphology of uniform 2D ultrathin nanosheets are derived from layered metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), where the NiS-MnS heterojunction are accommodated in carbon matrix with S dopant (NiMnS/SC). Through experiments and density functional theory (DFT) simulations, it is revealed that the carbon matrix with S dopant has multifunctional effects on active NiMnS during the charge/discharge process, including conductive intermediary, electrochemical active site, physical barrier, and chemical adsorption. This work may promote the design of MS-based electrodes in SIBs and extend the application of carbon material with S dopant in Na-S batteries.