Hybrid nanostructures containing one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and three-dimensional (3D) mesoporous carbon sphere have many promising applications due to their unique physical chemical properties. In this study, a novel 3D hierarchical carbon material (MCCNT) composed of mesoporous carbon sphere core and nitrogen rich CNTs shell is successfully prepared via an aerosol spray and subsequent chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. Owning to its well defined porous structure and favorable conductive framework, MCCNT is used as a potential sulfur host in lithium sulfur batteries through a classic melt-diffusion method. When cycled at a current density of 0.2 C (1 C = 1675 mA h g⁻¹), it delivers an initial capacity as high as 1438.7 mAh g⁻¹. Even if the current density increase to 1 C, the specific capacity still remain up to 534.6 mAh g⁻¹ after 300 cycles. The enhanced electrochemical performance can be attributed to the hybrid structure of MCCNT, in which, the porous core works as a host to confine sulfur and accommodate volume expansion and the external CNTs provide excellent electron and ion conductive frame work. Furthermore, the in-situ doped nitrogen on the surface of CNTs enables effective trapping of lithium polysulfides, leading to a much-improved cycling performance.

中文翻译：

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用于高级锂硫电池的氮掺杂3D分层碳/硫复合材料

包含一维（1D）碳纳米管（CNT）和三维（3D）介孔碳球的杂化纳米结构因其独特的物理化学性质而具有许多有希望的应用。在这项研究中，通过气溶胶喷雾和随后的化学气相沉积（CVD）工艺成功地制备了由介孔碳球核和富氮CNTs壳组成的新型3D分层碳材料（MCCNT）。由于其定义明确的多孔结构和良好的导电框架，MCCNT通过经典的熔融扩散方法被用作锂硫电池中潜在的硫主体。当以0.2 C（1 C = 1675 mA hg ^-1）的电流密度循环时，它提供的初始容量高达1438.7 mAh g ^-1。即使电流密度增加到1 C，在300个循环后，比容量仍然保持高达534.6 mAh g ^-1。增强的电化学性能可归因于MCCNT的混合结构，其中多孔核充当主体以限制硫并适应体积膨胀，而外部CNT提供了出色的电子和离子导电框架。此外，CNT表面上的原位掺杂氮能够有效捕获多硫化锂，从而大大提高了循环性能。