Surface strain-enhanced MoS2 as a high-performance cathode catalyst for lithium–sulfur batteries
Chao Yue Zhang,
Chaoqi Zhang,
Jiang Long Pan,
Guo Wen Sun,
Zude Shi,
Canhuang Li,
Xingqi Chang,
Geng Zhi Sun,
Jin Yuan Zhou,
Andreu Cabot
Affiliations
Chao Yue Zhang
School of Physical Science & Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China; Catalonia Institute for Energy Research – IREC, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, 08930, Spain
Chaoqi Zhang
Catalonia Institute for Energy Research – IREC, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, 08930, Spain
Jiang Long Pan
School of Physical Science & Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
Guo Wen Sun
School of Physical Science & Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
Zude Shi
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China
Canhuang Li
Catalonia Institute for Energy Research – IREC, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, 08930, Spain
Xingqi Chang
Catalonia Institute for Energy Research – IREC, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, 08930, Spain
Geng Zhi Sun
Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China
Jin Yuan Zhou
School of Physical Science & Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China; Corresponding authors.
Andreu Cabot
Catalonia Institute for Energy Research – IREC, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, 08930, Spain; ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain; Corresponding authors.
Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are one of the main candidates for the next generation of energy storage systems. To improve the performance of LSBs, we herein propose the use of strained MoS2 (s-MoS2) as a catalytically active sulfur host. The introduction of strain in the MoS2 surface, which alters its atomic positions and expands the S–Mo–S angle, shifts the d-band center closer to the Fermi level and provides the surface with abundant and highly active catalytic sites; these enhance the catalyst's ability to adsorb lithium polysulfides (LiPS), accelerating its catalytic conversion and promoting lithium-ion transferability. Strain is generated through the synthesis of core–shell nanoparticles, using different metal sulfides as strain-inducing cores. s-MoS2 nanoparticles are supported on carbon nanofibers (CNF/s-MoS2), and the resulting electrodes are characterized by capacities of 1290 and 657 mAh g−1 at 0.2 and 5 C, respectively, with a 0.05% capacity decay rate per cycle at 8 C during 700 cycles. Overall, this work not only provides an ingenious and effective strategy to regulate LiPS adsorption and conversion through strain engineering, but also indicates a path toward the application of strain engineering in other energy storage and conversion fields.
