title: A highly ordered meso@microporous carbon-supported sulfur@smaller sulfur core-shell structured cathode for Li-S batteries.
abstract: For lithium-sulfur batteries, commercial application is hindered by the insulating nature of sulfur and the dissolution of the reaction intermediates of polysulfides. Here, we present an ordered meso-microporous core-shell carbon (MMCS) as a sulfur container, which combines the advantages of both mesoporous and microporous carbon. With large pore volume and highly ordered porous structure, the "core" promises a sufficient sulfur loading and a high utilization of the active material, while the "shell" containing microporous carbon and smaller sulfur acts as a physical barrier and stabilizes the cycle capability of the entire S/C composite. Such a S/MMCS composite exhibits a capacity as high as 837 mAh g(-1) at 0.5 C after 200 cycles with a capacity retention of 80% vs the second cycle (a decay of only 0.1% per cycle), demonstrating that the diffusion of the polysulfides into the bulk electrolyte can be greatly reduced. We believe that the tailored highly ordered meso-microporous core-shell structured carbon can also be applicable for designing some other electrode materials for energy storage.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mold Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Lixia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Ziqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strasser
authors.forename: Yunhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: Li−S batteries; core−shell structure; electrochemical performance; highly ordered meso-microporous carbon; smaller sulfur molecules