Template method for fabricating Co and Ni nanoparticles/porous channels carbon for solid-state sodium-sulfur battery

Room-temperature sodium/sulfur battery has raised concern due to the superiority of high theoretical capacity and low cost that promise for large-scale application. However, the sluggish electrochemical activity and shuttle effect limits the progress of practical application. This work designs a template method for constructing metal/carbon sulfur host, which possesses metal (Co, Ni) nanoparticles highly distributed in large amounts of porous channels in carbon sphere. The metal nanoparticles assist in sulfur immobilization, electric conductivity and catalyze reaction kinetics, meanwhile the hollow channels can buffer the volume change of sulfur. When testing as the liquid/solid-state room-temperature Na/S batteries, the S@Co/C and S@Ni/C electrodes deliver high capacities and rate capability. This template method possesses utility potential in developing high-powered RT Na/S batteries, which provides possibility to for the preparation of various electrode materials in battery technology. (c) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.