TY - JOUR
T1 - Revealing the Rapid Electrocatalytic Behavior of Ultrafine Amorphous Defective Nb2O5-x Nanocluster toward Superior Li-S Performance
AU - Luo, Dan
AU - Zhang, Zhen
AU - Li, Gaoran
AU - Cheng, Shaobo
AU - Li, Shuang
AU - Li, Jingde
AU - Gao, Rui
AU - Li, Matthew
AU - Sy, Serubbabel
AU - Deng, Ya Ping
AU - Jiang, Yi
AU - Zhu, Yanfei
AU - Dou, Haozhen
AU - Hu, Yongfeng
AU - Yu, Aiping
AU - Chen, Zhongwei
PY - 2020/4/28
Y1 - 2020/4/28
N2 - The notorious shuttling behaviors and sluggish conversion kinetics of the intermediate lithium polysulfides (LPS) are hindering the practical application of lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, an ultrafine, amorphous, and oxygen-deficient niobium pentoxide nanocluster embedded in microporous carbon nanospheres (A-Nb2O5-x@MCS) was developed as a multifunctional sulfur immobilizer and promoter toward superior shuttle inhibition and conversion catalyzation of LPS. The A-Nb2O5-x nanocluster implanted framework uniformizes sulfur distribution, exposes vast active interfaces, and offers a reduced ion/electron transportation pathway for expedited redox reaction. Moreover, the low crystallinity feature of A-Nb2O5-x manipulates the LPS chemical affinity, while the defect chemistry enhances the intrinsic conductivity and catalytic activity for rapid electrochemical conversions. Attributed to these superiorities, A-Nb2O5-x@MCS delivers good Li-S battery performances, that is, high areal capacity of 6.62 mAh cm-2 under high sulfur loading and low electrolyte/sulfur ratio, superb rate capability, and cyclability over 1200 cycles with an ultralow capacity fading rate of 0.024% per cycle. This work provides a synergistic regulation on crystallinity and oxygen deficiency toward rapid and durable sulfur electrochemistry, holding a great promise in developing practically viable Li-S batteries and enlightening material engineering in related energy storage and conversion areas.
AB - The notorious shuttling behaviors and sluggish conversion kinetics of the intermediate lithium polysulfides (LPS) are hindering the practical application of lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, an ultrafine, amorphous, and oxygen-deficient niobium pentoxide nanocluster embedded in microporous carbon nanospheres (A-Nb2O5-x@MCS) was developed as a multifunctional sulfur immobilizer and promoter toward superior shuttle inhibition and conversion catalyzation of LPS. The A-Nb2O5-x nanocluster implanted framework uniformizes sulfur distribution, exposes vast active interfaces, and offers a reduced ion/electron transportation pathway for expedited redox reaction. Moreover, the low crystallinity feature of A-Nb2O5-x manipulates the LPS chemical affinity, while the defect chemistry enhances the intrinsic conductivity and catalytic activity for rapid electrochemical conversions. Attributed to these superiorities, A-Nb2O5-x@MCS delivers good Li-S battery performances, that is, high areal capacity of 6.62 mAh cm-2 under high sulfur loading and low electrolyte/sulfur ratio, superb rate capability, and cyclability over 1200 cycles with an ultralow capacity fading rate of 0.024% per cycle. This work provides a synergistic regulation on crystallinity and oxygen deficiency toward rapid and durable sulfur electrochemistry, holding a great promise in developing practically viable Li-S batteries and enlightening material engineering in related energy storage and conversion areas.
KW - amorphous structure
KW - defect
KW - electrocatalytic
KW - lithium−sulfur batteries
KW - nanocluster
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084167818&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsnano.0c00799
DO - 10.1021/acsnano.0c00799
M3 - 文章
C2 - 32182038
AN - SCOPUS:85084167818
SN - 1936-0851
VL - 14
SP - 4849
EP - 4860
JO - ACS Nano
JF - ACS Nano
IS - 4
ER -