Long‐Life Room‐Temperature Sodium–Sulfur Batteries by Virtue of Transition‐Metal‐Nanocluster–Sulfur Interactions

• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201811080
• Publication Date: 2018-12-10T03:15:56Z
• Authors: Bin‐Wei Zhang; Tian Sheng; Yun‐Xiao Wang; Shulei Chou; Kenneth Davey; Shi‐Xue Dou; Shi‐Zhang Qiao
• Keywords: Nanoclusters

Room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT-Na/S) batteries hold significant promise for large-scale application because of low cost both sodium and sulfur. However, the dissolution polysulfides into electrolyte limits practical application. Now, design testing a new class sulfur hosts as transition-metal (Fe, Cu, Ni) nanoclusters (ca. 1.2 nm) wreathed on hollow carbon nanospheres (S@M-HC) RT-Na/S is reported. A chemical couple between metal hypothesized to assist in immobilization enhance conductivity activity. S@Fe-HC exhibited an unprecedented reversible capacity 394 mAh g-1 despite 1000 cycles at 100 mA , together with rate capability 220 high current density 5 . DFT calculations underscore that these serve electrocatalysts rapidly reduce Na2 S4 short-chain sulfides thereby obviate shuttle effect.