Nitrogen-doped hollow carbon sphere composite Mn₃O₄ as an advanced host for lithium-sulfur battery

As the most promising advanced energy storage system, lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are highly favored by the researchers because of their advantages of high energy density (2500 W h kg^-1), low cost and non-pollution. However, the low conductivity, volume expansion of sulfur, and shuttle effect are still the great hindrance to the practical application of LSBs. Herein, the above problems can be addressed through the following strategies: (1) Hollow carbon microspheres with high specific surface area were constructed as sulfur hosts to increase sulfur loading while also being able to enhance the physical adsorption of polysulfides; (2) the loading of Mn₃O₄ particles on the basis of hollow carbon microspheres facilitates the capture and adsorption of polysulfides; (3) the hollow carbon sphere structure as a conductive network can provide more pathways for rapid electrical/ionic transport and also accelerate electrolyte wetting. Moreover, the thinner shell of hollow carbon microsphere is conducive to ion diffusion and speed up the reaction rate. Thus, the NHCS/Mn₃O₄/S composites exhibit a high discharge specific capacity of 1010.3 mAh g^-1 at first and still maintained a reversible capacity of 269.2 mAh g^-1 after 500 cycles. This work presents a facile sustainable and efficient synergistic strategy for the development of advanced LSBs.