Identifying single-atom catalysts for boosted Al-S conversion reactions

Aluminum-sulfur (Al-S) battery is a promising energy storage system owing to its safety, crustal abundance and high theoretical energy density. However, its development is hindered by the sluggish reaction kinetics and poor reversibility. Herein, a series of porous carbon supported atomic transition metal catalysts (SATM@NC) were considered to evaluate the catalytic activities in Al-S applications. Both theoretical and experimental results indicated that stable SATM@NC all promote the Al-S conversion reactions. Batteries assembled with SACo@NC/ S demonstrated a high specific capacity of 509.4 mA h g -1 at 1 A g -1 after 200 cycles. In mechanism, atomic metal species weakened Al-S bonds of AlPSs and increased their reactivity. Particularly, distinctive Al-binding interaction between AlPSs and SACo@NC was critical for its superior catalytic activity. This work gives a sys-tematically understanding of single-atom catalyst for Al-S chemistry, and provides enlightenment for high performance Al-S batteries.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the catalytic activities of single-atom catalysts in aluminum-sulfur batteries, and finds that stable single-atom catalysts can promote the conversion reactions and improve the specific capacity of the batteries. The unique aluminum-binding interaction between SACo@NC and AlPSs is critical for its superior catalytic activity.