Nitrogen-Doped Porous Nanofiber Aerogel-Encapsulated Staphylo-NiS Accelerating Polysulfide Conversion for Efficient Li-S Batteries.

The low conductivity of sulfur substances and the fussy effect of lithium polysulfides (LPS) limit the practical application of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). In this work, NiS is in situ synthesized on N-doped 3D carbon nanofibers with an optimized pore structure as a cathode material for LSBs. The conductive carbon nanofiber skeleton with a hierarchical (micropore-mesopore-macropore) structure etched by Cd can reduce the interface resistance of the cathode and remiss volume expansion during charge-discharge progress. The Ni was vulcanized and nitrogen-doped successively during the annealing process. In addition, the polar NiS and N-doped carbon structure can promote the catalytic conversion of LPS and regulate the 3D nucleation of LiS, which could reduce the reaction energy barrier. Therefore, the NCF-Cd-NiS-NC cathode can maintain a high initial capacity (1080.2 mAh g) and excellent stability at 0.1C. This work provides an important basis for the synthesis of high efficiency and inexpensive cathode carrier materials for LSBs.