Zi Liang Huang , Yue Xian Song , Wang Sai Yang , Ya Xin Xie , Shu Rui , Shi Li Juan , Guo Hui Juan , Qin Yuan Hang , Qun Yi
2025 Journal of Energy Storage 107:115007
Abstract
Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are poised to revolutionize the energy storge for the next generation due to their exceptional specific capacity. Nevertheless, the practical applications of LSBs still face challenges related to shuttle phenomenon and sluggish conversion kinetics of lithium polysulfide (LiPS). An advanced sulfur host with effective adsorption and catalytic conversion capabilities for LiPSs has been regarded as a crucial approach to overcoming these challenges in LSBs. Herein, a three-dimensional hierarchical porous ZIF-8@ZnO and carbon nanocomposite (C-ZIF-8@ZnO) electrode capable of adsorbing and catalyzing LiPS is developed and explored as a sulfur host for LSBs. ZIF-8@ZnO could exhibit high chemical interaction with LiPS, and the distinctive hierarchical structure, featuring a substantial specific surface area, could lead to enhanced LiPS adsorption and uniform sulfur distribution, thus suppressing LiPS shuttling effect and promoting electron transfer and sulfur conversion. Due to these synergistic properties, the S/C-ZIF-8@ZnO cathode has excellent first-turn discharge specific capacity (1360.3 and 1191.2mAh g-1 at 0.1 and 0.2 C, respectively) and excellent cycling stability, maintaining a low capacity decay rate of merely 0.21% per cycle throughout 200 cycles at 0.2 C, and an initial capacity reaching 999.9 mAh g-1 at 1 C. In addition, the coin cell at a substantial sulfur loading of 7.55 mg cm-2 and a minimal E/S ratio of 3.52 μL mg-1 yields a substantial initial area capacity of 7.0 mAh cm-2. This study showcases a novel approach to the optimized design of high-performance sulfur host for LSBs.
锂硫电池（LSBs）因其卓越的比容量，有望彻底改变下一代能量存储技术。然而，LSBs的实际应用仍面临多硫化锂（LiPS）穿梭效应和转化动力学迟缓等问题的挑战。开发一种具备高效吸附和催化转化LiPS能力的先进硫宿主材料被认为是克服这些挑战的关键途径。在此研究中，开发并探索了一种三维分层多孔ZIF-8@ZnO与碳纳米复合材料（C-ZIF-8@ZnO）电极作为锂硫电池的硫宿主材料，该材料能够有效吸附和催化LiPS。ZIF-8@ZnO表现出与LiPS的高化学相互作用，其独特的分层结构具有较大的比表面积，可增强LiPS的吸附和硫的均匀分布，从而抑制LiPS的穿梭效应，并促进电子转移和硫的转化。得益于这些协同特性，S/C-ZIF-8@ZnO正极在首次放电时表现出优异的比容量（在0.1 C和0.2 C下分别为1360.3和1191.2 mAh g^-1），并具有出色的循环稳定性，在0.2 C下经过200次循环后，每圈的容量衰减率仅为0.21%，且在1 C下的初始容量达到999.9 mAh g^-1。此外，在7.55 mg cm^-2的高硫负载和3.52 μL mg^-1的低电解液/硫比（E/S）条件下，纽扣电池实现了高达7.0 mAh cm^-2的初始面容量。本研究展示了一种优化设计高性能锂硫电池硫宿主材料的新方法。
