Lithium–sulfur
(Li–S) batteries are regarded to be
one of the most promising energy storage systems owing to their high
energy density. Nevertheless, polysulfide shuttle and self-discharge
severely hinder their commercial production. To address these issues,
a novel multifunctional separator (COF-PDA/SWCNT/PP) is developed
by modifying the commercial polypropylene (PP) separator via in situ
growth of a covalent organic framework (COF) functional layer on the
gutter layer made from single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). SWCNTs
in this configuration works as the gutter layer to reduce the pore
size of the PP separator and offers lithium ion/electron transmission
channels, while the COF-PDA barrier layer acts as a robust and efficient
shield against polysulfide shuttling via both physical confinement
and chemical interactions. Notably, the simultaneous generation of
polydopamine (PDA) can get rid of defects in COFs by welding the COF
nanoparticles, enhancing the mechanical property of the ultrathin
COF-PDA layer. On the basis of the multilayer architecture, the modified
separator not only effectively suppresses the shuttle effect but also
realizes rapid lithium-ion transportation. As expected, the battery
with a COF-PDA/SWCNT/PP separator presents a reversible specific capacity
of 1031 mAh g–1 over 100 cycles at 0.2 C. Moreover,
a high reversible capacity of 642 mAh g–1 over 500
cycles even at 1 C and outstanding anti-self-discharge behavior by
a low capacity-attenuation of 4.6% over 7 days are also acquired for
the cells implementing the as-developed separator. Hence, this proposed
strategy of multilayer modified separators will open a new route to
prepare high-performance Li–S batteries.