Fe₃O₄-doped mesoporous carbon cathode with a plumber's nightmare structure for high-performance Li-S batteries

Shuttling of lithium polysulfides and slow redox kinetics seriously limit the rate and cycling performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. In this study, Fe₃O₄-dopped carbon cubosomes with a plumber's nightmare structure (SP-Fe₃O₄-C) are prepared as sulfur hosts to construct cathodes with high rate capability and long cycling life for Li-S batteries. Their three-dimensional continuous mesochannels and carbon frameworks, along with the uniformly distributed Fe₃O₄ particles, enable smooth mass/electron transport, strong polysulfides capture capability, and fast catalytic conversion of the sulfur species. Impressively, the SP-Fe₃O₄-C cathode exhibits top-level comprehensive performance, with high specific capacity (1303.4 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C), high rate capability (691.8 mAh gFe₃O₄¹ at 5 C), and long cycling life (over 1200 cycles). This study demonstrates a unique structure for high-performance Li-S batteries and opens a distinctive avenue for developing multifunctional electrode materials for next-generation energy storage devices.