Nitrogen-Doped Single-Walled Carbon Nanohorns as a Cost-Effective Carbon Host toward High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Nitrogen-doped single-walled carbon nanohorns (N-SWCNHs) are porous carbon material characterized by unique horn-shape structures with high surface areas and good conductivity. Moreover, they can be mass-produced (tons/year) using a novel proprietary process technology making them an attractive material for various industrial applications. One of the applications is the encapsulation of sulfur, which turns them as promising conductive host materials for lithium-sulfur batteries. Therefore, we explore for the first time the electrochemical performance of industrially produced N-SWCNHs as a sulfur-encapsulating conductive material. Fabrication of lithium-sulfur cells based on N-SWCNHs with sulfur composite could achieve a remarkable initial gravimetric capacity of 1650 mA h g, namely equal to 98.5% of the theoretical capacity (1675 mA h g), with an exceptional sulfur content as high as 80% in weight. Using cyclic chronopotentiometry and impedance spectroscopy, we also explored the dissolution mechanism of polysulfides inside the electrolyte.