Multifunctional Ni/NiO heterostructure nanoparticles doped carbon nanorods modified separator for enhancing Li-S battery performance

The shuttle effect caused by soluble polysulfide diffusion and slow redox kinetics seriously hinder the further practical application of Li-S batteries. In order to overcome above problems, herein, we designed a novel carbon nanorods composite doped with Ni/NiO heterostructure nanoparticles (Ni/NiO-C) using a simple and high-yield in-situ technique. On the one hand, abundant heterointerface on the surface of nanoparticles provides a more effective polysulfide anchoring behavior. On the other hand, the electrical conductivity of Ni/NiO promotes rapid reaction kinetics of lithium polysulfides. Therefore, as multifunctional separator modification materials, Ni/NiO-C nanorods effectively regulates the polysulfide reactions from both physical and chemical aspects, and improves the electrochemical performance of the sulfur cathode. As a result, a high reversible capacity of 1462 mAh g(-1) (0.2 C) and a low capacity decay rate of similar to 0.078% per cycle are obtained. Even at a high sulfur loading of 3.8 mg cm(-2), a considerable areal capacity of 4.24 mAh cm(-2) can be reached. This work provides a new method for rationally design of separator modification by heterostructure composite for Li-S batteries.

Automated summary

A novel carbon nanorods composite doped with Ni/NiO heterostructure nanoparticles was designed to overcome the shuttle effect in Li-S batteries. The material effectively regulates the polysulfide reactions and improves the electrochemical performance of the sulfur cathode.