Issue

Vol. 18 (2026)

Facilitated Polysulfide Redox Conversion by Delocalized Electrons in MBene Heterointerface for Highly Stable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02100-3
Guifen Wu
Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids (Ministry of Education), Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory for New‑Energy Vehicle Battery Energy‑Storage Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, People’s Republic of China
Yunmiao Fan
State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People’s Republic of China
Jiatong Li
State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People’s Republic of China
Zhaoxi Shen
College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Analytical Science and Technology of Hebei Province, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, People’s Republic of China
http://orcid.org/0009-0003-4027-8218
Yuxiu Xie
Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids (Ministry of Education), Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory for New‑Energy Vehicle Battery Energy‑Storage Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, People’s Republic of China
Peixun Yang
Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids (Ministry of Education), Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory for New‑Energy Vehicle Battery Energy‑Storage Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, People’s Republic of China
Jun Pu
Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids (Ministry of Education), Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory for New‑Energy Vehicle Battery Energy‑Storage Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Jun Pu

jpu@ahnu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 252

Abstract

The shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and sluggish redox kinetics severely restrict the development of high-energy lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. To alleviate this issue, this study adopts an in situ design strategy to construct tungsten carbide (WC) nanocrystals on the surface of two-dimensional (2D) tungsten boride (WB)-based MBene, creatively forming a WB@WC heterostructure to optimize the adsorption–migration–catalysis mechanism of LiPSs. The WB–WC heterointerface reduces the reaction energy barrier of LiPSs due to the electron delocalization effect and promotes the deposition/dissociation of Li2S and the transfer of charge. In situ Raman verified that WB@WC can effectively inhibit LiPSs shuttling. In situ X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) characterizations further explored the dynamic change of W valence state during LiPSs redox cycle. Encouragingly, the WB@WC-modified Li–S cell delivers an initial capacity of 1277 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C. It exhibits extremely stable cycling performance at 2 C, with a low-capacity decay rate of only ~ 0.024% per cycle. Even under sulfur loading of 7.92 mg cm−2, high capacity of 7.9 mAh cm−2 can still be achieved. This work provides an effective method for regulating the activity of MBene-based catalysts.


Highlights:
1 A multifunctional 2D tungsten boride (WB)@tungsten carbide (WC) heterostructure was innovatively fabricated by a fluorine-free MBene etching process and in situ carbonization technology.
2 The enhanced local electron delocalization effect at the heterointerface effectively suppressed the shuttle effect and improved the reaction kinetics, achieving an area capacity of up to 7.9 mAh cm−2 and a capacity attenuation as low as ~ 0.024% per cycle.
3 In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy verified the catalytic mechanism of WB-based MBene.

Keywords

2D MBene heterointerface Electron delocalization In situ XAFS and XANES Polysulfide conversion Bifunctional catalysts
Wu, Guifen, Yunmiao Fan, Jiatong Li, Zhaoxi Shen, Yuxiu Xie, Peixun Yang, and Jun Pu. 2026. “Facilitated Polysulfide Redox Conversion by Delocalized Electrons in MBene Heterointerface for Highly Stable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (February):252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02100-3.
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