Incorporation ZnS quantum dots into carbon nanotubes for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Constructing sulfur hosts with high electronic conductivity, large void space, strong chemisorption, and rapid redox kinetics is critically important for their practical applications in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). Herein, by coupling ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), one multifunctional sulfur host CNT/ZnS-QDs is designed via a facile one-step hydrothermal method. SEM and TEM analyses reveal that small ZnS-QDs (<5 nm) are uniformly anchored on the CNT surface as well as encapsulated into CNT channels. This special architecture ensures sulfur direct contacting with highly conductive CNTs; meanwhile, the catalytic effect of anchored ZnS-QDs improves the chemisorption and confinement to polysulfides. Benefiting from these merits, when used as sulfur hosts, this special architecture manifests a high specific capacity, superior rate capability, and long-term cycling stability. The ZnS-QDs dependent electrochemical performance is also evaluated by adjusting the mass ratio of ZnS-QDs, and the host of CNT/ZnS-QDs 27% owns the optimal cell performance. The specific capacity decreases from 1051 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C to 544 mAh g^-1 at 2.0 C, showing rate capability much higher than CNT/S and other CNT/ZnS-QDs/S samples. After 150 cycles, the cyclic capacity at 0.5 C exhibits a slow reduction from 1051 mAh g^-1 to 771 mAh g^-1, showing a high retention of 73.4% with a coulombic efficiency of over 99%. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses demonstrate that this special architecture juggles high conductivity and excellent confinement of polysulfides, which can significantly suppress the notorious shuttle effect and accelerate the redox kinetics. The strategy in this study provides a feasible approach to design efficient sulfur hosts for realizing practically usable LSBs.