3D hierarchical nanosheet Ni–Fe/CFP as a novel cathode for lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

One effective strategy to overcome the capacity fading effects in cathode materials for lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) is to envelop elemental sulfur in porous and conductive hosts. In this way, the host provides efficient physical and/or chemical effects to trap the dissolved polysulfides and enhance the conductivity of the sulfur cathode. Nickel–iron on carbon fiber paper (Ni–Fe/CP) with a unique hierarchical structure was synthesized by hydrothermal method at 90 °C and used as an efficient host and conductivity enhancer for sulfur cathodes. The electrode with Ni–Fe/CP current collector gives an initial specific capacity of 1041 mA h g−1, which is higher than that of the CP current collector without modification (901 mA h g−1). The results prove that the addition of Ni–Fe composites into CP contributes to the improvement of conductivity of the sulfur cathode and the specific capacity of LSB.