Graphene quantum dot-modified Co3O4/NiCo2O4 yolk-shell polyhedrons as a polysulfide-adsorptive sulfur host for lithium-sulfur batteries

Jing Xu; Kehao Tao; Yajun Zhu; Ting Zhou; Xiaofei Huang; Jinjin Li; Jinyun Liu

doi:10.1039/d4cc05879h

Graphene quantum dot-modified Co₃O₄/NiCo₂O₄ yolk-shell polyhedrons as a polysulfide-adsorptive sulfur host for lithium-sulfur batteries

Chem Commun (Camb). 2025 Jan 14. doi: 10.1039/d4cc05879h. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jing Xu¹, Kehao Tao², Yajun Zhu^{1

3}, Ting Zhou¹, Xiaofei Huang¹, Jinjin Li², Jinyun Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui 241002, P. R. China. [email protected].
² National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Micro/Nano Fabrication, Department of Micro/Nano-electronics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China. [email protected].
³ Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, Anhui 230031, P. R. China.

PMID: 39807750
DOI: 10.1039/d4cc05879h

Abstract

The shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides and non-ideal reaction kinetics restrict the development of high-energy-density lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Here, we report a graphene quantum dot (GQD)-modified Co₃O₄/NiCo₂O₄ yolk-shell polyhedron as a sulfur host for Li-S batteries. GQDs shorten transport pathways of electrons, while strong binding of Co₃O₄ and NiCo₂O₄ to Li₂S₄, Li₂S₆ and Li₂S₈ are demonstrated from density functional theory calculations. Co₃O₄/NiCo₂O₄/GQDs@S shows a high capacity of 727 mA h g^-1 after 100 cycles, along with a well-recoverable rate performance. A good tolerance at low temperature of -5 °C is also achieved, enabling a potential for applications in various conditions.