ZnS-Nanoparticle-Coated Carbon Cloth as an Efficient Interlayer for High-Performance Li–S Batteries

Lithium–sulfur batteries are appealing electrochemical energy storage systems due to their potentially high energy output and low cost. At present, practical realization of Li–S batteries is hindered by unfavorable polysulfide shuttle during discharge–charge cycles, which causes capacity decay and sluggish kinetics of an electrode reaction. Metal sulfide catalysts were proposed to stabilize Li–S electrochemistry due to their ability to anchor polysulfides and facilitate their electrochemical conversion. In this work, zinc sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized and supported on a thin carbon cloth through a one-pot hydrothermal reaction. The catalyst-supported carbon cloth, with a low mass content of sulfides (2.18 wt %), could serve as a functional interlayer, absorbing the dissolved polysulfides and catalyzing the conversion reaction. As a result, the Li–S battery showed improved cycling performance with a high capacity retention of 93.5% after 100 cycles. This work demonstrates a rational strategy to realize high-performance Li–S batteries.