Nickel-doped CNTs composite as cathode by sulfur vapor deposition for high-performance all-solid-state lithium‑sulfur batteries

Shuttle effect of polysulfide in the cathode and the safety issues arising from dendrite formation at Li metal anode are the main challenges of traditional liquid lithium‑sulfur batteries. In order to solve the shuttle effect and prevent short circuit, the all-solid-state lithium‑sulfur battery (ASSLSB) is proposed. However, the huge volume expansion of sulfur and the improvement of sulfur conversion efficiency during charge and discharge, which could lead to the limitation of electrochemical performance. Herein, a homogeneous Ni-doped carbon-nanotubes (H-Ni-SVD@CNT) composite cathode of ASSLSB is prepared by sulfur vapor deposition to confine sulfur and promote the conversion of sulfur and Li2S. In this work, SVD-5-S@CNT composite cathode demonstrates high reversible discharge capacity of 1001.1 mAh g−1after 127 cycles and capacity retention rate of 78.6 % at the rate of 0.1C and 60 °C. Moreover, H-Ni-SVD@CNT composite cathode exhibits superior electrochemical performance, displaying the discharge specific capacity of 1519.3 mAh g−1at 0.1C and 60 °C. Meanwhile, the discharge specific capacity of H-Ni-SVD@CNT composite cathode is 1060.9 mAh g−1at room temperature. The synergistic effect of physical confinement and chemical catalysis improves the electrochemical performance of the all-solid-state lithium‑sulfur battery. This work proposes a new strategy for the cathode structure design of the all-solid-state lithium‑sulfur battery.