Issue 2, 2020

High-performance room-temperature sodium–sulfur battery enabled by electrocatalytic sodium polysulfides full conversion

Abstract

Room-temperature sodium–sulfur (RT-Na–S) batteries are highly desirable for grid-scale stationary energy storage due to their low cost; however, short cycling stability caused by the incomplete conversion of sodium polysulfides is a major issue for their application. Herein, we introduce an effective sulfiphilic host, gold nanodots decorated on hierarchical N-doped carbon microspheres (CN/Au/S), to achieve completely reversible conversion reactions in the S cathode by electrocatalyzing the low-kinetics conversion of Na2S4 into NaS2 (discharge process) or S (charge process). Besides, gold nanodots and N-doped carbon can increase the conductivity of the S cathode and provide strong polar–polar adsorption of sodium polysulfides to alleviate the shuttling effects. When serving as the cathode, the CN/Au/S composite can realize enhanced sulfur utilization, excellent cycling stability, and outstanding rate capability. This work deepens our understanding of the catalytic effect of gold atoms on sulfur molecules, opening a new avenue for cathode design and development of advanced RT-Na–S batteries.

Graphical abstract: High-performance room-temperature sodium–sulfur battery enabled by electrocatalytic sodium polysulfides full conversion

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Okt. 2019
Accepted
20 Dec. 2019
First published
20 Dec. 2019

Energy Environ. Sci., 2020,13, 562-570

Author version available

High-performance room-temperature sodium–sulfur battery enabled by electrocatalytic sodium polysulfides full conversion

N. Wang, Y. Wang, Z. Bai, Z. Fang, X. Zhang, Z. Xu, Y. Ding, X. Xu, Y. Du, S. Dou and G. Yu, Energy Environ. Sci., 2020, 13, 562 DOI: 10.1039/C9EE03251G

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