Issue

Vol. 16 (2024)

Multifunctional SnO2 QDs/MXene Heterostructures as Laminar Interlayers for Improved Polysulfide Conversion and Lithium Plating Behavior

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01446-w
Shungui Deng
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People’s Republic of China
Weiwei Sun
Key Laboratory of Quantum Materials and Devices of Ministry of Education, School of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People’s Republic of China
Jiawei Tang
SEU‑FEI Nano‑Pico Center, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, People’s Republic of China
Mohammad Jafarpour
Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Überlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Frank Nüesch
Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Überlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Jakob Heier
Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Überlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Chuanfang Zhang
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Chuanfang Zhang

chuanfang.zhang@scu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 16 (2024), Article Number: 229

Abstract

Poor cycling stability in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries necessitates advanced electrode/electrolyte design and innovative interlayer architectures. Heterogeneous catalysis has emerged as a promising approach, leveraging the adsorption and catalytic performance on lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) to inhibit LiPSs shuttling and improve redox kinetics. In this study, we report an ultrathin and laminar SnO2@MXene heterostructure interlayer (SnO2@MX), where SnO2 quantum dots (QDs) are uniformly distributed across the MXene layer. The combined structure of SnO2 QDs and MXene, along with the creation of numerous active boundary sites with coordination electron environments, plays a critical role in manipulating the catalytic kinetics of sulfur species. The Li–S cell with the SnO2@MX-modified separator not only demonstrates superior electrochemical performance compared to cells with a bare separator but also induces homogeneous Li deposition during cycling. As a result, an areal capacity of 7.6 mAh cm−2 under a sulfur loading of 7.5 mg cm−2 and a high stability over 500 cycles are achieved. Our work demonstrates a feasible strategy of utilizing a laminar separator interlayer for advanced Li–S batteries awaiting commercialization and may shed light on the understanding of heterostructure catalysis with enhanced reaction kinetics.


Highlights:
1 The interfacing between SnO2 and MXene alters electronic structures, shifting the d-band center in transition metals, enhancing catalytic efficiency by reducing electron filling in antibonding orbitals.
2 A binder-free, ultrathin, laminar heterostructured interlayer on polypropylene separator is demonstrated. The ionic sieving mechanism and efficient adsorption–catalysis process enable deeper charge/discharge cycle and improved stability.
3 The improved catalytic conversion and suppressed lithium dendrites formation enable a high loading of 7.5 mg cm−2 and an initial area capacity of 7.6 mAh cm−2.

Keywords

Lithium–sulfur battery Heterogeneous catalysis Heterostructure Redox kinetics Lithium dendrites
Deng, Shungui, Weiwei Sun, Jiawei Tang, Mohammad Jafarpour, Frank Nüesch, Jakob Heier, and Chuanfang Zhang. 2024. “Multifunctional SnO2 QDs/MXene Heterostructures As Laminar Interlayers for Improved Polysulfide Conversion and Lithium Plating Behavior”. Nano-Micro Letters 16 (June):229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01446-w.
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