Nanoporous Co and N-Codoped Carbon Composite Derived from ZIF-67 for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have nice prospects because of their excellent energy density and theoretical specific capacity. However, the dissolution of lithium polysulfides and shuttle effects lead to a low coulombic efficiency and cycle performance of Li-S batteries. Therefore, designing electrode materials that can suppress the shuttle effect and adsorb polysulfides is of great significance. In this work, a Co and N-codoped carbon composite via heating a type of Co-etched zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67), nanocube precursor, in inert gas is reported as a cathode sulfur carrier material for Li-S batteries. The experimental results show that high-temperature carbonization results in mesoporous structures inside the material which not only provide ion channels for the reaction but also improve the adsorption capacity of polysulfides. Furthermore, the exposed metal Co sites and N atoms can also inhibit the shuttle effect. When the annealing temperature is 600 °C, the sulfur composite exhibits a good cycling stability and rate performance. The cathode showed an improved initial specific capability of 1042 and still maintained 477 mAh g⁻¹ at the rate of 1 C (1 C = 1672 mA g⁻¹). Furthermore, at 5 C, a stable specific discharge capacity of 608 mAh g⁻¹ was obtained.