Hollow urchin-like Al-doped α-MnO2-x as advanced sulfur host for high- performance lithium-sulfur batteries

An urchin-like hollow Al-doped alpha-MnO2-x microsphere is prepared by a facile hydrothermal method and exhibited effective regulation for the dissolution of polysulfides from the Li-S cathode. After Al doping, the conductivity of MnO2 has been greatly improved, and made the traditional MnO2 morphology changed. These Al-doped alpha-MnO2-x/S microspheres are found to exhibit high initial discharge capacity of 1017 mAh g(-1) under sulfur content up to 73 wt% at 1 C and they exhibit a favorable cycle stability of 694 mAh g(-1) at 3 C after 300 cycles. These excellent characteristics make this composite a promising cathode material for Li-S batteries. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

An urchin-like hollow Al-doped alpha-MnO2-x microsphere was prepared by a facile hydrothermal method, which exhibited effective regulation for polysulfides dissolution from Li-S cathode. The Al-doped alpha-MnO2-x/S microspheres showed high initial discharge capacity and favorable cycle stability, making them a promising cathode material for Li-S batteries.