Conductive metal-organic frameworks promoting polysulfides transformation in lithium-sulfur batteries

Abstract Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been extensively investigated in Li-S batteries owing to high surface area, adjustable structures and abundant catalytic sites. Nevertheless, the insulating nature of traditional MOFs render retarded kinetics of polysulfides conversion, leading to insufficient utilization of sulfur. In comparison, conductive MOFs (c-MOFs) show great potential for promoting polysulfides transformation due to superb electronic conductivity. In this work, a nickel-catecholates based c-MOF, Ni-HHTP (HHTP = 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene), is designed to regulate surface chemistry of self-supported carbon paper for advanced Li-S batteries. Taking advantage of the porous structure and high conductivity, the as-prepared Ni-HHTP is conducive to synergising strengthening the chemisorption of polysulfides and accelerating the reaction kinetics in Li-S batteries, significantly mitigating the polysulfides diffusion from the non-encapsulated sulfur cathode, therefore promoting polysulfides transformation in Li-S batteries. This work points out a promising modification strategy for developing advanced sulfur cathode in Li-S batteries.