Monodisperse Molybdenum Nanoparticles as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Li-S Batteries

authored by: Yuping Liu, Atasi Chatterjee, Pascal Rusch, Chuanqiang Wu, Pengfei Nan, Manhua Peng, Frederik Bettels, Taoran Li, Chenxi Ma, Chaofeng Zhang, Binghui Ge, Nadja-Carola Bigall, H. Pfnur, Fei Ding, Lin Zhang
Abstract: Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted widespread attention due to their high theoretical energy density. However, their practical application is still hindered by the shuttle effect and the sluggish conversion of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). Herein, monodisperse molybdenum (Mo) nanoparticles embedded onto nitrogen-doped graphene (Mo@N-G) were developed and used as a highly efficient electrocatalyst to enhance LiPS conversion. The weight ratio of the electrocatalyst in the catalyst/sulfur cathode is only 9%. The unfilled d orbitals of oxidized Mo can attract the electrons of LiPS anions and form Mo–S bonds during the electrochemical process, thus facilitating fast conversion of LiPSs. Li-S batteries based on the Mo@N-G/S cathode can exhibit excellent rate performance, large capacity, and superior cycling stability. Moreover, Mo@N-G also plays an important role in room-temperature quasi-solid-state Li-S batteries. These interesting findings suggest the great potential of Mo nanoparticles in building high-performance Li-S batteries.
Organisation(s): Institute of Solid State Physics
Surfaces Science Section
Laboratory of Nano and Quantum Engineering
Section Functional nanostructures from assembled colloidal nanoparticles
Section Catalysis and Membranes
Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines
External Organisation(s): Anhui University
Type: Article
Journal: ACS NANO
Volume: 15
Pages: 15047-15056
No. of pages: 10
ISSN: 1936-0851
Publication date: 28.09.2021
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General Materials Science, General Engineering, General Physics and Astronomy
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.15488/11333 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c05344 (Access: Closed)