Catalytic Conversion of Ni 12 P 5 in Situ on the Surface of Carbon Nanotubes to Promote Polysulfide Conversion in High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

AbstractLithium-sulfur batteries have received lots of attention due to their high energy density and cheap material. The poor electrical conductivity and slow electrochemical kinetics of sulfur hinder their application. Here, we in situ grow Ni12P5 on carbon nanotube to prepare composites as sulfur host. Electrochemical tests show that Ni12P5 acts as an electrocatalyst in the lithium-sulfur batteries, initiating the oxidation of Li2S6 and Li2S4 at higher potentials, significantly improving the reaction kinetics during charging and discharging. The CNT@Ni12P5/S composite exhibited 1352 mAh/g initial discharge capacity at 0.1 C and a retention capacity of 85% after 100 cycles at 0.2 C.Keywords: Lithium–sulfur batteriescathodenickel phosphideelectrocatalystreaction kinetics Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was financially supported by the Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (No.22JR5RA313), Gansu College Innovation Fund Project of Gansu Provincial Department of Education (No.2021A-162, No.2022A-169), Lanzhou City Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project (No.114), Youth Science and Technology Innovation Program of Lanzhou Institute of Technology (No.2020KJ-18) and 2019 First Batch of Lanzhou City Science and Technology Plan Project (No.2019-1-46).