A Fe3N/carbon composite electrocatalyst for effective polysulfides regulation in room-temperature Na-S batteries

Abstract

The practical application of room-temperature Na-S batteries is hindered by the low sulfur utilization, inadequate rate capability and poor cycling performance. To circumvent these issues, here, we propose an electrocatalyst composite material comprising of N-doped nanocarbon and Fe3N. The multilayered porous network of the carbon accommodates large amounts of sulfur, decreases the detrimental effect of volume expansion, and stabilizes the electrodes structure during cycling. Experimental and theoretical results testify the Fe3N affinity to sodium polysulfides via Na-N and Fe-S bonds, leading to strong adsorption and fast dissociation of sodium polysulfides. With a sulfur content of 85 wt.%, the positive electrode tested at room-temperature in non-aqueous Na metal coin cell configuration delivers a reversible capacity of about 1165 mA h g−1 at 167.5 mA g−1, satisfactory rate capability and stable capacity of about 696 mA h g−1 for 2800 cycles at 8375 mA g−1.

Nanostructure Engineering Strategies of Cathode Materials for Room-Temperature Na–S Batteries

“…104,105 For instance, Qi et al, as mentioned above, in situ embedded highly catalytic Fe 3 N quantum dots into N-doped multilayered carbon nanofibers derived from biomass as an outstanding electrocatalyst for high-performance Na−S batteries. 58 The N-doped nanofibrous substrate offered both good physical immobilization via the porous structure and strong chemical adsorption ability from the doped N sites and polar Fe 3 N surfaces. On the other hand, the loaded Fe 3 N quantum dots possessed high dissociation level for Na 2 S to catalyze their oxidation process with fast kinetics and high active material utilization.…”

“…Recently, a lot of carbonaceous materials have been developed to act as building blocks of skeletal materials of S cathodes for RT Na–S batteries, due to their excellent electronic conductivity . Their microscopic morphologies of carbon materials usually have distinct impact on material functionalized natures, as determined by many literatures. , For example, layered carbon nanosheets are able to exhibit large specific surface areas for electrolyte infiltration and expose abundant active sites for Na ions .…”

“…Recently, many papers have demonstrated that these metal/metal sulfide catalysts can be replaced by similar metal chalcogenides and/or metal nitrides, due to their excellent catalytic activity and Na 2 S deposition regulation for S conversion reactions. , For instance, Qi et al, as mentioned above, in situ embedded highly catalytic Fe 3 N quantum dots into N-doped multilayered carbon nanofibers derived from biomass as an outstanding electrocatalyst for high-performance Na–S batteries . The N-doped nanofibrous substrate offered both good physical immobilization via the porous structure and strong chemical adsorption ability from the doped N sites and polar Fe 3 N surfaces.…”

A Review on the Construction of Carbon-Based Metal Compound Composite Cathode Materials for Room Temperature Sodium-Sulfur Batteries

“…Some metal compounds can be used as catalysts on the cathode side of RT Na-S ( Qi, et al, 2021 ). In addition to electrocatalysis, metal oxides can also adsorb NaPSs due to the strong electronegativity of O atoms.…”

Tessellated N-doped carbon/CoSe2 as trap-catalyst sulfur hosts for room-temperature sodium–sulfur batteries

“…21,22 In addition, polar metallic compounds (e.g. oxides, 23,24 sulfides, 25,26 nitrides, 27,28 carbides, 29 etc.) have become an effective solution to adsorb and catalyze sodium polysulfides and alleviate the shuttle phenomenon through strong chemical/physical interactions.…”