Rational Design of TiO<sub>2</sub>@g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/CNT Composite Separator for High Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries to Promote the Redox Kinetics of Polysulfide

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSB) show excellent potential as future energy storage devices with high energy density, but their slow redox kinetics and the shuttle effect seriously hinder their commercial application. Herein, a 0D@2D composite was obtained by anchoring polar nano-TiO<sub>2</su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanomaterials
Main Authors: Lingling Dong, Wen Jiang, Kefeng Pan, Lipeng Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-12-01
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/13/24/3084
Description
Summary:Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSB) show excellent potential as future energy storage devices with high energy density, but their slow redox kinetics and the shuttle effect seriously hinder their commercial application. Herein, a 0D@2D composite was obtained by anchoring polar nano-TiO<sub>2</sub> onto a 2D layered g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> surface in situ, and a functional separator was prepared using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as a conductive substrate. Due to their long-range conductivity, multi-walled carbon nanotubes make up for the low conductivity of TiO<sub>2</sub>@g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> to some extent. A lithium–sulfur battery prepared with a modified separator exhibited excellent long-term cycle performance, a good lithium ion diffusion rate, and rapid redox kinetics. The initial specific discharge capacity of the composite was 1316 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> at 1 C, and a high specific discharge capacity of 569.9 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> was maintained after 800 cycles (the capacity decay rate per cycle was only 0.07%). Even at the high current density of 5 C, a specific capacity of 784 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> was achieved. After 60 cycles at 0.5 C, the modified separator retained the discharge capacity of 718 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> under a sulfur load of 2.58 mg cm<sup>−2</sup>. In summary, the construction of a heterojunction significantly improved the overall cycle stability of the battery and the utilization rate of active substances. Therefore, this study provides a simple and effective strategy for further improving the overall performance and commercial application of lithium–sulfur batteries.
ISSN:2079-4991