Garaka, S.S.; Xie, D.; Kheirabad, A.K.; Lu, Y.; Yuan, J.: Template-synthesis of a poly(ionic liquid)-derived Fe1-xS/nitrogen-doped porous carbon membrane and its electrode application in lithium–sulfur batteries. Materials Advances 2 (2021), p. 5203–5212
10.1039/d1ma00441g
Open Access Version
Abstract:
This study deals with the facile synthesis of Fe1-xS nanoparticle-containing nitrogen-doped porous carbon membranes (denoted as Fe1-xS/N-PCMs) via vacuum carbonization of hybrid porous poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) membranes, and their successful use as a sulfur host material to mitigate the shuttle effect in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. The hybrid porous PIL membranes as the sacrificial template were prepared via ionic crosslinking of a cationic PIL with base-neutralized 1,10-ferrocenedicarboxylic acid, so that the iron source was molecularly incorporated into the template. The carbonization process was investigated in detail at different temperatures, and the chemical and porous structures of the carbon products were comprehensively analyzed. The Fe1xS/N-PCMs prepared at 900 1C have a multimodal pore size distribution with a satisfactorily high surface area and well-dispersed iron sulfide nanoparticles to physically and chemically confine the LiPSs. The sulfur/Fe1xS/N-PCM composites were then tested as electrodes in Li–S batteries, showing much improved capacity, rate performance and cycle stability, in comparison to iron sulfide-free, nitrogen-doped porous carbon membranes.