Carbon nanotubes decorated with zinc oxide quantum dots enables high-efficiency lithium-sulfur batteries

Abstract

In lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs), carbon nanotubes (CNT) serve as a conductive platform for Li2S nucleation reaction. Nevertheless, the non-polar surface of CNT causes their low-efficiency control of sulfur species. This work decorates highly active zinc oxide (ZnO) quantum dots onto CNT to form ZnO@CNT architectures. Such a “conductivity-polarity coupling” strategy efficiently rationalizes sulfur evolution procedures. Consequently, the ZnO@CNT based separator elevates the sulfur utilization efficiencies, cycling stabilities of both coin-type batteries and soft-packaged pouch cell. We fulfil the minimal (quantum dot-level) catalyst input to control the battery performance outcomes, implying an effective approach to propel the real implementation of LSBs.