Integrating a 3D porous carbon fiber network containing cobalt with artificial solid electrolyte interphase to consummate advanced electrodes for lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are deemed as one of the most promising next-generation energy storage systems due to their high theoretical energy density. However, their intrinsic shortcomings hindered their practical commercialization. In this work, a powerful three-dimensional (3D) filter paper porous carbon decorated with cobalt [Co] (FPPC@Co) matrix is employed to fabricate high-quality anode and cathode simultaneously. Combining with in-situ surface engineering, the rationally designed solid electrolyte interphase [SEI]@Li/FPPC@Co anodes can plate/strip Li uniformly without Li dendrites, manifesting a low overpotential of about 20 mV for 1000 h at 1 mA/cm2/1 mA h/cm2. COMSOL Multiphysics simulations further testify the underlying mechanisms. Meanwhile, with the help of molten sulfurizing method, the synthesized FPPC@Co/S cathode exhibits excellent stability with high capacity retention of 73.3% after 200 cycles at 1 C. Furthermore, we paired SEI@Li/FPPC@Co anode and FPPC@Co/S cathode to assemble lithium-sulfur full cells. The SEI@Li/FPPC@Co||FPPC@Co/S full cell shows superior electrochemical performance with a long-term cycle life (a capacity retention of 88.7% after 200 cycles at 1 C). Insight gained from this work opens a new door for fabrication of high-quality electrodes for LSBs.