Sulfur-doped mesoporous carbon activated by sodium sulfate as a superior performance anode for lithium ion batteries

Abstract

Mesoporous carbon (MC) was activated by Na2SO4 to prepare sulfur-doped MC (S-MC) for superior lithium storage. Compared with MC, S-MC exhibits unique structure such as reduced particle size, doped S heteroatoms, developed mesopores, and narrowed pore size distributions. It makes S-MC deliver superior lithium storage performance. The first reversible capacity of S-MC is as high as 1197.2 mAh·g−1, which is much higher than that of MC (698.6 mAh·g−1). What is more, the rate capability of S-MC is much better than that of MC, and the charge capacity of S-MC is 303.4 mAh·g−1 at 1.5 A·g−1. The specific charge capacity of S-MC increases to 955.6 mAh·g−1 after 300 charge-discharge cycles, exhibiting excellent cycling performance. Our findings give a new way to modify porous carbon for superior lithium storage.