Porous Carbon Architecture Assembled by Cross-Linked Carbon Leaves with Implanted Atomic Cobalt for High-Performance Li-S Batteries

The practical application of lithium-sulfur batteries is severely hampered by the poor conductivity, polysulfide shuttle effect and sluggish reaction kinetics of sulfur cathodes. Herein, a hierarchically porous three-dimension (3D) carbon architecture assembled by cross-linked carbon leaves with implanted atomic Co-N-4 has been delicately developed as an advanced sulfur host through a SiO2-mediated zeolitic imidazolate framework-L (ZIF-L) strategy. The unique 3D architectures not only provide a highly conductive network for fast electron transfer and buffer the volume change upon lithiation-delithiation process but also endow rich interface with full exposure of Co-N-4 active sites to boost the lithium polysulfides adsorption and conversion. Owing to the accelerated kinetics and suppressed shuttle effect, the as-prepared sulfur cathode exhibits a superior electrochemical performance with a high reversible specific capacity of 695 mAh g(-1) at 5 C and a low capacity fading rate of 0.053% per cycle over 500 cycles at 1 C. This work may provide a promising solution for the design of an advanced sulfur-based cathode toward high-performance Li-S batteries.

Automated summary

The hierarchically porous three-dimensional carbon architecture with implanted atomic Co-N-4 provides a highly conductive network, buffers the volume change during lithiation-delithiation process, and promotes the conversion of lithium polysulfides. The sulfur cathode exhibits superior electrochemical performance with high reversible specific capacity and low capacity fading rate.