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High-performance lithium-sulfur battery based on porous N-rich g-C3N4 nanotubes via a self-template method

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Abstract

The commercial development of lithium-sulfur batteries (Li-S) is severely limited by the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LPSs) and the non-conductivity of sulfur. Herein, porous g-C3N4 nanotubes (PCNNTs) are synthesized via a self-template method and utilized as an efficient sulfur host material. The one-dimensional PCNNTs have a high specific surface area (143.47 m2·g−1) and an abundance of macro-/mesopores, which could achieve a high sulfur loading rate of 74.7wt%. A Li-S battery bearing the PCNNTs/S composite as a cathode displays a low capacity decay of 0.021% per cycle over 800 cycles at 0.5 C with an initial capacity of 704.8 mAh·g−1. PCNNTs with a tubular structure could alleviate the volume expansion caused by sulfur and lithium sulfide during charge/discharge cycling. High N contents could greatly enhance the adsorption capacity of the carbon nitride for LPSs. These synergistic effects contribute to the excellent cycling stability and rate performance of the PCNNTs/S composite electrode.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (No. BK2018 1469), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2020A1515110035), and the Science and Technology Planning Social Development Project of Zhenjiang City, China (No. SSH20190140049).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, China

    Meng-rong Wu, Ming-yue Gao, Shu-ya Zhang, Shang-qing Sun, Jin-feng Xie, Xing-mei Guo, Fu Cao & Jun-hao Zhang

  2. Zhenjiang Electric Power Supply Company, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd., Zhenjiang, 212000, China

    Ru Yang & Yong-ming Chen

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  1. Meng-rong Wu
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  2. Ming-yue Gao
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  4. Ru Yang
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Correspondence to Xing-mei Guo or Jun-hao Zhang.

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Wu, Mr., Gao, My., Zhang, Sy. et al. High-performance lithium-sulfur battery based on porous N-rich g-C3N4 nanotubes via a self-template method. Int J Miner Metall Mater 28, 1656–1665 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2319-x

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