MoS2 nanosheets grown on hollow carbon spheres as a strong polysulfide anchor for high performance lithium sulfur batteries

Abstract

Lithium sulfur batteries are expected to be one of the most promising energy storage systems due to their high energy density, low cost and environmental friendliness. However, the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides severely hampers their practical application. The design of the sulfur cathode is one of the most important approaches to overcome the problem. In this work, MoS₂ nanosheets have been successfully grown on the surface of hollow carbon spheres (HCS) to obtain MoS₂@HCS nanocomposites with uniform morphology. The growth behavior of MoS₂ nanosheets was also proved by adjusting the pore structure of HCS. With a sulfur loading of 74%, the MoS₂@HCS/S cathode exhibits a high initial reversible capacity of 1419 mA h g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.1 C and remains at 1010 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles. Even at 0.5 C, a capacity of 795 mA h g⁻¹ can be retained after 600 cycles, corresponding to a capacity retention rate of 63.1%. By adjusting the concentration of the sulfur source, the relationship between different growth quantities of MoS₂ and the cycling performance of the battery was also investigated. The excellent electrochemical performance of the MoS₂@HCS/S cathode can be fully attributed to its physical and chemical double adsorption effect on lithium polysulfides, which has been confirmed through the visible adsorption and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) experiments. This work provides a simple design concept and method to synthesize a nanocomposite-based sulfur host for high performance lithium sulfur batteries.