Graphene Oxide Induced Growth of Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanotubes as a 1D/2D Composite for High‐Performance Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

Abstract A nitrogen‐doped carbon nanotubes/graphene (NCNTs‐G) composite as the sulfur host for a lithium‐sulfur battery has been fabricated by in situ growth of NCNTs on graphene in a one‐step nickel‐catalyzed thermolysis. The graphene sheet can function as a robust support to anchor NCNTs so that the specific surface area of the composite can be increased and the charge‐transfer resistance is reduced. These features, together with the high N‐doping level, impart the NCNTs‐G/S cathode a high utilization of sulfur, and the polysulfide shuttle effect can be effectively inhibited by both physical confinement and chemical adsorption. Therefore, the NCNTs‐G/S cathode shows high reversible capacities of 1484 mA h g −1 and 985 mA h g −1 at the current rate of 0.1 C and 0.5 C, respectively. It also exhibits a good cycling stability; 82 % of its initial capacity is retained after 150 cycles at 0.5 C, and a very small capacity decay rate of 0.06 % per cycle resulted in 400 cycles at 1 C. Based on the above structural characteristics and battery performance results, the NCNTs‐G/S is a promising cathode for a high‐performance Li−S battery.