Issue 5, 2020, Issue in Progress

Lychee-like TiO2@TiN dual-function composite material for lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are promising candidates for next generation rechargeable batteries because of their high energy density of 2600 W h kg−1. However, the insulating nature of sulfur and Li2S, the “shuttle effect” of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), and the volumetric change of sulfur electrodes limit the practical application of Li–S batteries. Here, lychee-like TiO2@TiN hollow spheres (LTTHS) have been developed that combine the advantages of high adsorption TiO2 and high conductivity TiN to achieve smooth adsorption/spread/conversion of LiPSs and use them as a sulfur host material in Li–S batteries for the first time. The cathode exhibits an initial specific capacity of 1254 mA h g−1 and a reversible capacity of 533 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 0.2C, which corresponds to an average coulombic efficiency up to 99%. The cell with the LTTHS@S cathode achieved an extended lifespan of over 1000 cycles. Such good performance can be assigned to the good adsorption and catalysis of the dual-function TiO2@TiN composite. This work proved that the TiO2@TiN composite can be an attractive matrix for sulfur cathodes.

Graphical abstract: Lychee-like TiO2@TiN dual-function composite material for lithium–sulfur batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Nov 2019
Accepted
06 Dec 2019
First published
15 Jan 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2020,10, 2670-2676

Lychee-like TiO2@TiN dual-function composite material for lithium–sulfur batteries

W. Xu, H. Pang, H. Zhou, Z. Jian, R. Hu, Y. Xing and S. Zhang, RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 2670 DOI: 10.1039/C9RA09534A

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