Interspersing Partially Oxidized V2C Nanosheets and Carbon Nanotubes toward Multifunctional Polysulfide Barriers for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted much attention attributed to their high theoretical energy density, whereas the parasitic shuttling behavior of lithium polysulfides (LiPS) hinders this technology from yielding practically competitive performance. Targeting this critical challenge, we develop an advanced polysulfide barrier by modifying the conventional separator with CNTs-interspersed V2C/V2O5 nanosheets to alleviate the shuttle effect. The partial oxidization of V2C MXene constructs the V2C/V2O5 composite with V2O5 nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on few-layered V2C nanosheets, which synergistically and concurrently improves the sulfur confinement and redox reaction kinetics. Moreover, the interstacking between the 1D CNTs and the 2D V2C/V2O5 not only prevents the agglomeration of nanosheets for efficient exposure of active interfaces but also constructs a robust conductive network for fast charge and mass transfers. The Li-S cells with V2C/V2O5/CNTs-modified separator realize a high initial capacity (1240.4 mAh g(-1) at 0.2 C), decent capacity retention (82.6% over 500 cycles), and favorable areal capacity (5.9 mAh cm(-2)) at a raised sulfur loading (6.0 mg cm(-2)). This work affords a unique multifunctional separator design toward durable and efficient sulfur electrochemistry, holding great promise for improving the electrochemical properties of Li-S batteries.

Automated summary

By modifying the conventional separator with CNTs-interspersed V2C/V2O5 nanosheets, an advanced polysulfide barrier is developed to alleviate shuttle effect in Li-S batteries. This design improves sulfur confinement, redox reaction kinetics, and provides a robust conductive network for fast charge and mass transfers. The improved Li-S cells show high initial capacity, decent capacity retention over cycles, and favorable areal capacity, showing great promise for enhancing the electrochemical properties of Li-S batteries.