Rechargeable Aluminum-Sulfur Battery with Improved Electrochemical Performance by Cobalt-Containing Electrocatalyst.

The rechargeable aluminum sulfur (Al-S) battery is regarded as a potential alternative beyond-lithium-ion-battery system owing to its safety, promising energy density, and the high earth abundance of the constituent electrode materials, however, sluggish kinetic response and short life-span are the major issues that limit the battery's development towards applications. In this article, we report Co(II, III) as an electrochemical catalyst in the sulfur cathode that renders a reduced discharge-charge voltage hysteresis and improved capacity retention and rate capability for Al-S batteries. The structural and electrochemical analysis suggest that the catalytic effect of Co(II, III) is closely associated with the formation of cobalt sulfides and the changes in the valence states of the Co(II,III) during the electrochemical reactions of the sulfur species, which lead to improved reaction kinetics and sulfur utilization in the cathode. The Al-S battery, assembled with the cathode consisting of Co(II,III) decorated carbon matrix, demonstrates a considerably reduced voltage hysteresis of 0.8 V, a reversible specific capacity of ∼500 mAh/g at 1 A/g after 200 discharge-charge cycles and of ∼300 mAh/g at 3 A/g .