Lychee seed-derived microporous carbon for high-performance sodium-sulfur batteries. (5th January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhao, Decheng; Jiang, Shan; Yu, Sheng; Ren, Jinghui; Zhang, Zhen; Liu, Shupei; Liu, Xiang; Wang, Zhoulu; Wu, Yutong; Zhang, Yi
• Is Part Of: Carbon. Volume 201(2023)
• Page Start: 864
• Page End: 870
• Publication Date: 2023-01-05
• Subjects: Cathode materials -- Microporous carbon -- Shuttle effect -- Energy storage -- RT Na–S; Carbon -- Periodicals; Carbone -- Périodiques; Koolstof; Toepassingen; Electronic journals; 546.681
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2022.09.075
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-6223

Abstract

Abstract: Sodium-sulfur (Na–S) batteries are regarded as one of the promising next-generation energy storage systems; while being more cost-effective than lithium-sulfur batteries, Na–S batteries also suffer from the shuttle effect. Different strategies to tackle the long-chain polysulfide product shuttling issue have been proposed, mainly focusing on sulfur product confinement with costly materials and complex methods. Seeking high-performance and low-cost electrode material precursors is of great importance to promoting Na–S battery applications. We present a high specific surface area microporous carbon framework synthesized from degradable biowaste, namely lychee seeds, with a facile room-temperature etching process. Unlike the traditional dissolution-precipitation mechanism, a quasi-solid-state route takes place with the help of micropore (0.48 nm) confinement, preventing the formation of long-chain polysulfides for excellent electrochemical performance. The obtained Na–S battery exhibits an outstanding initial reversible discharge specific capacity of 1395 mAh g −1 at 0.2C and still maintains a high capacity of 518 mAh g −1 after 500 cycles at 1.0C. The lychee seed-derived microporous carbon provides insights into sustainable and scalable host fabrication for high-performance sulfur-based batteries. Graphical abstract: Image 1