Good Low-Temperature Properties of Nitrogen-Enriched Porous Carbon as Sulfur Hosts for High-Performance Li–S Batteries

Abstract

Despite the increased attention devoted to exploring cathode construction based on various nitrogen-enriched carbon scaffolds at room temperature, the low-temperature behaviors of Li–S cathodes have yet to be studied. Herein, we demonstrate the good low-temperature electrochemical performances of nitrogen-enriched carbon/sulfur composite cathodes. Electrochemical evaluation indicates that a reversible capacity of 368 mAh g^–1 (0.5 C) over 100 cycles is achieved at −20 °C. After returning to 25 °C, a capacity of 620 mAh g^–1 (0.5 C) is achieved over 350 cycles with a low-capacity attenuation rate (0.071% per cycle) and an initial capacity of 1151 mAh g^–1 (0.1C). This positive electrochemical property was speculated to result from the good surface chemistry of the various amine groups in the nitrogen-enriched carbon materials with enhanced polysulfide immobilization