Atomically-Dispersed Fe-N4 on 3D Hierarchical Porous Carbon for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Battery

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery with the advantages of high theoretical capacity and low cost is a promising technology for advanced energy storage. However, poor conductivity of the sulfur cathode, huge volume expansion, shuttling effect and sluggish catalytic conversion of lithium polysulfide hinder its commercialization. Herein, a 3D hierarchical porous carbon loaded with atomically dispersed Fe-N-4 was developed as a sulfur cathode, which not only offers enhanced electronic conductivity, but also alleviates volume expansion. Moreover, density functional theory calculation results suggest that the Fe-N-4 sites are favorable to enhance the diffusion and promote the conversion of lithium polysulfide. Consequently, lithium-sulfur battery with 3D hierarchical porous carbon as the sulfur cathode exhibit good capacity and cycling performance, where a high initial specific capacity of 1289.3 mAh g(-1) can be delivered at 0.1 C, and a capacity loss of only 0.025 % per cycle can be achieved for 1000 cycles at 2.0 C.

Automated summary

A 3D hierarchical porous carbon loaded with atomically dispersed Fe-N-4 was developed as a sulfur cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries, improving conductivity and sulfur activity, and reducing volume expansion, leading to good capacity and cycling performance.