Highly catalytic porous MoN nanosheets anchored carbon microtubes interlayer for lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have been widely considered as one of the most promising next -generation energy storage devices owing to the ultrahigh theoretical capacity (1,672 mAh/g) and energy density (2,600 Wh/kg). However, the shuttle effect of lithium-polysulfides (LiPSs) and the sluggish conversion kinetics impede the wide commercialization of LSBs. In this work, porous and catalytic MoN nanosheets were fabricated on the conductive carbonized cotton cloth (denoted as CCC@MoN) to serve as an interlayer for LSBs. The porous structure of MoN nanosheets provides abundant catalytic sites to capture LiPSs and accelerates conversion kinetics. Notably, hollow and conductive fibers in CCC substrate can physically restrain LiPSs and serve as a secondary current collector to recycle the dissolved sulfur species. Thus, the highly catalytic porous MoN and conductive CCC can synergistically generate an efficient trapping-conversion ability toward polysulfides. With the assistance of the CCC@MoN interlayer, the LSBs exhibit remarkable cycling stability and rate performance. Even with a high areal sulfur loading (5 mg/cm-1) cathode, an impressive areal specific capacity of 4 mAh/cm(-1) can still be achieved at 0.1 C. This work paves a new way for the design of multifunctional interlayers in the commercial application of LSBs. (C)& nbsp;2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this work, porous and catalytic MoN nanosheets were fabricated on a conductive carbonized cotton cloth to serve as an interlayer for lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). The porous structure of MoN nanosheets provides abundant catalytic sites and accelerates the conversion kinetics of lithium-polysulfides (LiPSs). Additionally, the conductive carbonized cotton cloth can physically restrain LiPSs and act as a secondary current collector. The combination of MoN nanosheets and conductive carbonized cotton cloth synergistically enhances the trapping and conversion ability of polysulfides.