A carbon quantum dot-decorated g-C3N4 composite as a sulfur hosting material for lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

Although lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have attracted strong consideration regarding their fundamental mechanism and energy applications, the inferior cycling performance and low reaction rate caused by the “shuttling effect” and the sluggish reaction kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) impede their practical application. In this work, graphitic C₃N₄ (g-C₃N₄) assembled with highly-dispersed nitrogen-containing carbon quantum dots (CQDs) is designed as a cooperative catalyst to accelerate the reaction kinetics of LiPS conversion, the precipitation of Li₂S during discharging, and insoluble Li₂S decomposition during the charging process. Meanwhile, the introduction of CQDs improves the conductivity of the g-C₃N₄ substrate, showing great significance for the construction of high-performance electrocatalysts. As a result, the as-obtained composite shows efficient adsorption and electrochemical conversion of LiPSs, and the Li–S batteries assembled with CQDs/g-C₃N₄ exhibit an initial specific capacity of 1300.0 mA h g⁻¹ at the current density of 0.1C and retain 582.3 mA h g⁻¹ after 200 cycles. The electrode with the modified composite displays a greater capacity contribution of Li₂S precipitation (175.7 mA h g⁻¹), indicating an enhanced catalytic activity of g-C₃N₄ decorated by CQDs. The rational design of CQDs/g-C₃N₄ as a sulfur host could be an effective strategy for developing high performance Li–S batteries.