Function-convertible metal-organic crystal derived from liquid-solid interfacial reaction for lithium-sulfur batteries

摘要

Tremendous efforts are made to design nanostructured functional materials utilized in cathode or separator for lithium-sulfur (Li?S) batteries. However, it is still limited to grant specified functions to each component and integrate into a cell to achieve a synergistic effect for high performance. This paper presents a function convertible synthetic platform based on metal-organic crystal derived from the liquid-solid interfacial reaction, which prepares distinct nanostructured materials with each desired function for the separator and cathode in Li?S batteries. This approach yields carbon nanorods decorated with zinc oxide quantum dots (ZQDs) on a separator, which provides both functions of alleviating the shuttle phenomenon and facilitating the conversion reactions. Further increase in temperature produces a mesostructured carbon nanorod with open porosity, supplying abundant electrochemical reaction sites for sulfur and polysulfide as a sulfur host material for the cathode. Combining specialized functions for the separator and cathode, the resulting cell exhibits outstanding rate capability and cycling performance (579.3 mAh g(-1) at 5 C and 682.9 mAh g(-1) at 1 C after 400 cycles).