title: Porous nitrogen-doped carbon derived from silk fibroin protein encapsulating sulfur as a superior cathode material for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries.
abstract: The features of a carbon substrate are crucial for the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Nitrogen doping of carbon materials is assumed to play an important role in sulfur immobilisation. In this study, natural silk fibroin protein is used as a precursor of nitrogen-rich carbon to fabricate a novel, porous, nitrogen-doped carbon material through facile carbonisation and activation. Porous carbon, with a reversible capacity of 815 mA h g(-1) at 0.2 C after 60 cycles, serves as the cathode material in Li-S batteries. Porous carbon retains a reversible capacity of 567 mA h g(-1), which corresponds to a capacity retention of 98% at 1 C after 200 cycles. The promising electrochemical performance of porous carbon is attributed to its mesoporous structure, high specific surface area and nitrogen doping into the carbon skeleton. This study provides a general strategy to synthesise nitrogen-doped carbons with a high specific surface area, which is crucial to improve the energy density and electrochemical performance of Li-S batteries.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology of Ministry of Education, National Engineering Lab of Textile Fiber Materials & Processing Technology, College of Materials and Textiles, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China. caiyr@zstu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiawei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yurong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Qiwei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Dongzhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Juming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008094:Lithium / Q000737:chemistry*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D013455:Sulfur / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D013455:Sulfur; D002244:Carbon; D005349:Fibroins; D008094:Lithium; D009584:Nitrogen