Application Of Lithium-sulfur Batteries Research Articles

Triple Effect of "Conductivity-Adsorption-Catalysis" Enables MXene@FeCoNiP to be Sulfur Hosts for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The weak chemical immobilization ability and poor catalytic effect of MXene inhibit its application in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, a novel MXene@FeCoNiP composite is rationally developed and utilized as a sulfur host for Li-S batteries. In this well-designed MXene-based nanostructure, the introduction of FeCoNiP in the interlayer of MXene nanosheets can not only effectively inhibit the restacking of MXene nanosheets but also act as an accelerator for the adsorption and catalysis of polysulfides to restrain the shuttling effect and facilitate the transformation of polysulfides. The existence of two-dimensional MXene nanosheets provides more active sites and improves the conductivity, which is beneficial for accelerating the reaction kinetics. Thus, the as-prepared MXene@FeCoNiP composites achieve an outstanding performance for Li-S batteries. This work provides an opportunity to construct an ideal sulfur host with the triple effect of "conductivity-adsorption-catalysis".

Rational design of nitrogen-doping Ti3C2Tx microspheres with enhanced polysulfide catalytic activity for lithium-sulfur batteries

The primary challenges that impede the practical applications of lithium-sulfur batteries are the significant shuttle effect of polysulfides, huge volume expansion, and slow redox kinetics. In this work, three-dimensional nitrogen doping Ti3C2Tx MXenes (3D N-Ti3C2Tx ) were successfully synthesized by spray drying and subsequent annealing, and hydrochloric acid-treated melamine effectively reduces the oxidation of MXenes in these processes. The formation of a unique nanoflower-shaped microsphere endows 3D N-Ti3C2Tx with a significant specific surface area and pore volume. The combination of nitrogen doping and the large specific surface area increased adsorption capacity and catalytic conversion ability for polysulfide intermediates. Consequently, the obtained 3D N-Ti3C2Tx /S cathode exhibited high-capacity retention (578.5 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 0.5 C and 462.5 mAh g-1 after 1,000 cycles at 1 C), superior rate performance (651.2 mAh g-1 at 3 C), and excellent long-term cycling performance (capacity fading rate of 0.076% per cycle at 0.5 C and 0.046% per cycle at 1 C). This work expands the potential applications of MXenes for lithium-sulfur batteries.

High-Entropy Metal Oxide-Coated Carbon Cloth as Catalysts for Long-Life Li-S Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with high specific energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness of sulfur have been regarded as a competitive alternative to replace lithium-ion batteries. However, the shuttle effect and the sluggish conversion rate of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) have seriously limited the practical application of Li-S batteries. Herein, high-entropy oxides grown on the carbon cloth (CC/HEO) are synthesized by a simple and ultrafast solution combustion method for the sulfur cathode. The as-prepared composites possess abundant HEO active sites for strong interaction with LiPSs, which can significantly promote redox kinetics. Besides, the carbon fiber substrate not only ensures high electrical conductivity but also accommodates large volume change, leading to a stable sulfur electrochemistry. Benefiting from the rational design, the Li-S batteries with CC/HEO as cathode skeleton exhibits good cyclability with a capacity decay rate of 0.057% per cycle after 1000 cycles at 2 C. More importantly, the Li-S batteries with 4.3 mg cm-2 high sulfur loading can still retain a high capacity retention of 78.2% after 100 cycles.

Flower-like covalent organic frameworks as host materials for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have emerged as a promising alternative energy storage system due to their high energy density and cost-effectiveness. However, practical applications of Li-S batteries are hindered by challenges such as the shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) flower-like diaminoanthraquinone (DAAQ)-covalent organic framework (COF) was developed, featuring nanorod-like petals and enriched with abundant N and O adsorption sites, serving as a host material for the sulfur cathode of Li-S batteries. Through a process of sulfur melting-diffusion, the resulting DAAQ-COF@S cathode material demonstrated a stable 3D cross-linked morphology with a hierarchical pore structure, maximizing the exposure of N/O adsorptive sites and facilitating rapid ion diffusion. This effectively inhibited the shuttling effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and enhanced rate performance. Consequently, DAAQ-COF@S cathodes exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 1182.0 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, with a capacity retention rate of 79.6% after 500 cycles at 2 C. Even at a high current density of 4 C, they maintained a high capacity of 616.8 mAh g−1, surpassing the majority of previously reported COF-based host materials for Li-S batteries. This work underscores the significance of COF micromorphology and advances the development of high-performance cathodes for Li-S batteries.

Multi-heterostructured MXene/NiS2/Co3S4 with S-Vacancies to Promote Polysulfide Conversion in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The severe shuttle effect of polysulfides (LiPSs) and the slow liquid-solid phase conversion are the main obstacles hindering the practical application of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Separator modification with a high-activity catalyst can boost LiPSs conversion and suppress their shuttle effect. In this work, multi-heterostructured MXene/NiS2/Co3S4 with rich S-vacancies was constructed facilely with a hydrothermal and high-temperature annealing strategy for separator modification. The MXene sheet not only provides a physical barrier but also ensures a high conductivity and adsorption capacity of the catalyst; the dual active centers of NiS2 and Co3S4 catalyze LiPSs conversion. In addition, the vacancies and heterostructures can modulate the electronic structure of the catalyst, improve its intrinsic activity, and reduce the polysulfides reaction barrier, thus facilitating ion/electron transport and inhibiting the shuttle effect. Benefiting from these advantages, the Li-S battery with MXene/NiS2/Co3S4 modified separator exhibits exciting discharge capacities (1495.4 mAh g-1 at 0.1C and 549.0 mAh g-1 at 6C) and an excellent ultra-long cycle life (average capacity decay rate of 0.026% for 2000 cycles at 2C); at a high sulfur loading of 10.0 mg cm-2, the battery operates for nearly 80 cycles at 0.2C, giving a capacity retention rate of 75.76%. This work provides a high-activity catalyst for Li-S batteries.

1T-rich MoS2 nanosheets anchored on conductive porous carbon as effective polysulfide promoters for lithium–sulfur batteries

The practical applications of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have severely been hindered by notorious shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics of lithium polysulfide intermediates (LiPSs), which bring about rapid capacity degradation, low coulombic efficiency and poor cycling stability. In this work, 1T-rich MoS2 nanosheets are in-situ developed onto the conductive porous carbon matrix (1T-rich MoS2@PC) as efficient polysulfide promotors for high-performance Li-S batteries. The porous carbon skeleton tightly anchors MoS2 nanosheets to prevent their reaggregation and ensures accessible electrical channels, and at the same time provides a favorable confined space that promotes the generation of 1T-rich MoS2 structure. More importantly, the uniformly distributed metallic 1T-rich MoS2 nanosheets not only affords rich sulfphilic sites and high binding energy for immobilizing LiPSs, but also favors rapid electron transfer and LiPSs conversation kinetics, substantially regulating sulfur chemistry in working cells. Consequently, the Li-S cell assembled with 1T-rich MoS2@PC modified separator delivers a remarkable cycling stability with ultralow capacity decay rate of 0.067 % over 500 cycles at 1C. Encouragingly, under harsh conditions (high sulfur loading of 4.78 mg cm−2 and low E/S ratio of 8 μL mg−1), a favorable electrochemical performance can still be demonstrated. This study highlights the profitable design of 1T-rich MoS2/carbon based electrocatalyst for suppressing shuttle effect and promoting catalytic conversation of LiPSs, and has the potential to be applied to in other energy storage systems.

ZIF-67-Derived Flexible Sulfur Cathode with Improved Redox Kinetics for High-Performance Li-S Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have received much attention due to their high energy density and low price. In recent years, alleviating the volume expansion and suppressing the shuttle effect during the charge and discharge processes of Li-S batteries have been widely addressed. However, the slow conversion kinetics from polysulfide (LiPSs) to Li2S2/Li2S still limits the application of Li-S batteries. Therefore, we designed a ZIF-67 grown on cellulose (named ZIF-67@CL) as an electrocatalyst to improve the interconversion kinetics from LiPSs to Li2S2/Li2S for Li-S batteries. Based on the results of adsorption experiments of LiPSs, ZIF-67@CL and CL hosts were immersed in Li2S4 solution to adsorb LiPSs, and the UV-Vis test was conducted on the supernatant after adsorption. The results showed that the ZIF-67@CL had a stronger adsorption for LiPSs compared with the cellulose (CL). Furthermore, in the Li2S nucleation tests, the fabricated cells were galvanostatically discharged to 2.06 V at 0.112 mA and then potentiostatically discharged at 2.05 V. Based on the results of Li2S nucleation tests, the catalytic effect of ZIF-67 was further verified. As a result, the sulfur cathode used a ZIF-67 catalyst (named S/ZIF-67@CL) and delivered an initial capacity of 1346 mAh g-1 at a current density of 0.2 C. Even at a high current density of 2 C, it exhibited a high-capacity performance of 1087 mAh g-1 on the first cycle and maintained a capacity output of 462 mAh g-1 after 150 cycles, with a Coulombic efficiency of over 99.82%.

Boosting Cathode Activity and Anode Stability of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with Vigorous Iodic Species Triggered by Nitrate.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery with a sulfurized polyacrylonitrile cathode is a promising alternative to Li-ion systems. However, the sluggish charge transfer of cathode and accumulation of inactive Li on anode remain persistent challenges. An advanced electrolyte additive with function towards both cathode and anode holds great promise to address these issues. Herein, we present a new strategy to boost sulfur activity and rejuvenate dead Li simultaneously. In the polar electrolyte containing I2-LiNO3 additives, I3 -/IO3 - are triggered significantly by the reaction between NO3 - and I- ions. The I3 -/IO3 - are reactive to insulated Li2S product of cathode and inactive Li on anode, thus accelerating the conversion reaction of sulfur and recovering Li sources back to battery cycling. The in situ/ex situ spectroscopic and morphologic monitoring reveal the crucial role of iodine in promoting Li2S dissociation and inhibiting dendritic Li growth. With the modified electrolyte, the symmetric Li||Li cells deliver a lifespan of 4000 h with an overpotential less than 12 mV at 0.5 mA cm-2. For Li-S cells, 100 % capacity retention up to thousands of cycles and enhanced rate capability are available. This work demonstrates a feasible strategy on electrolyte engineering for practical applications of Li-S batteries.

MXene-Bimetallic Hybrids via Mixed Molten Salts Etching for Kinetics-Enhanced and Dendrite-Free Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with high theoretical energy density (2600Whkg-1) are considered to be one of the most promising secondary batteries. However, the practical application of Li-S batteries is limited by the polysulfides shuttling and unstable lithium metal anodes. Herein, an asymmetric separator (CACNM@PP), composed of Co-Ni/MXene (CNM) on the cathode and Cu-Ag/MXene (CAM) on the anode for high-performance Li-S batteries is reported. For the cathode, CNM provides a synergistic effect by integrating Co, Ni, and MXene, resulting in strong chemical interactions and fast conversion kinetics for polysulfides. For the anode, CAM with abundant lithiophilicity active sites can lower the nucleation barrier of Li. Moreover, LiCl/LiF layers are generated in situ as an ion conductor layer during charging and discharging, inducing a uniform deposition of Li. Therefore, the assembled cells with the CACNM@PP separators harvest excellent electrochemical performance. This work provides novel insights into the development of commercially available high-energy density Li-S batteries with asymmetric separators.

Achieving a smooth “adsorption-diffusion-conversion” of polysulfides enabled by MnO2-ZnS p-n heterojunction for Li-S battery

The commercial application of lithium-sulfur batteries is primarily impeded by the constant shuttling of soluble polysulfides and sluggish redox kinetics. Nowadays, the discovery of the heterojunction, which combines materials with diverse properties, offers a new perspective for overcoming these obstacles. Herein, a functional coating separator for the lithium-sulfur battery is designed using a MnO2-ZnS p-n heterojunction with a spontaneous built-in electric field (BIEF). The MnO2 nanowire provides suitable adsorption capacity for polysulfides, while the abundant reactive sites brought by ZnS ensure efficient conversion. Moreover, the BIEF significantly facilitates the migration of electrons and polysulfides at the MnO2-ZnS interface, enabling a smooth “adsorption-diffusion-conversion” reaction mechanism. By serving as both the adsorption module and catalytic sites, this BIEF allows batteries utilizing separators modified with MnO2-ZnS heterojunction to achieve an impressive initial capacity of 1511.1 mAh g−1 at 0.1C and maintain a capacity decay rate of merely 0.048% per cycle at 2.0C after 1000 cycles. Even when increasing sulfur loading to 9.4 mg cm−2 in lean electrolyte (5.4 μL mg−1), the battery still exhibits an ultrahigh areal capacity of 6.0 mAh cm−2 after 100 cycles.

Constructing honeycomb-structured LaCoO3 as an efficient polysulfide converter on the separator to achieve practical lithium-sulfur batteries

Owing to its remarkable energy density and specific capacity, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery has emerged as one of the most promising energy storage devices. Nevertheless, the shuttle effect and the sluggish conversion of polysulfides significantly impede the practical application of Li-S batteries. Hence, a LaCoO3 functional material with a unique honeycomb structure was designed as an efficient polysulfide converter. The honeycomb-structured LaCoO3 not only exhibits strong bonding energy towards polysulfides but also possesses abundant adsorption sites on its surface. The LaCoO3 material also shows excellent catalytic properties to quickly convert the adsorbed and aggregated polysulfides, effectively suppressing the shuttle effect. Moreover, the honeycomb structure of LaCoO3 can facilitate the rapid wetting and infiltration of the electrolyte. Consequently, the Li-S cell with LaCoO3 functionalized separator provides an areal specific capacity of 3.10 mAh cm−2 after 150 cycles under high sulfur loading of 6.52 mg cm−2. Moreover, under practical conditions where the electrolyte content is as low as 7 μL mg−1 and the sulfur loading is 7.96 mg cm−2, the Li-S battery equipped with LaCoO3-separator can still provide an areal specific capacity of 5.93 mAh cm−2 after 50 cycles.

Mxene quantum dots decorated reduced graphene oxide networks as multifunctional electrocatalyst for advanced lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium sulfur (Li-S) battery has shown great potential as an attractive rechargeable energy storage devices, but the shuttle behavior and slow conversion kinetics of the intermediate lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) are the main obstacles to the practical application of Li-S battery. Herein, a simple and scalable spray drying strategy was used to construct conductive polar Ti3C2 MXene quantum dots (QDs)-decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) microsphere (rGO@Ti3C2 QDs) as efficient electrocatalyst and absorbent for Li-S battery. Firstly, the DFT results show that Ti3C2 QDs can effectively adsorb and catalyze LiPSs conversion. This ability can be attributed to the Ti3C2 QDs can provide a large number of LiPSs catalytic active sites. In addition, the rGO provides physical LiPSs constraint and a flexible substrate to prevent QDs from aggregating. Moreover, both parts are conductive, effectively improving the electron/charge transfer. Therefore, this unique structure and composition show high LiPSs adsorption and catalysis, while allowing rapid Li+/electron transfer. As a result, the S/rGO@Ti3C2 QDs electrode provides high initial capacity (1185 mAh/g at 0.2C), good rate capability (758 mAh/g at 3C), and excellent long-term cyclability (500 cycles at 1C with low attenuation of 0.07% per cycle), as well as an excellent electrochemical performance even at high sulfur loading. Meanwhile, the Li-S pouch cell based on S/rGO@Ti3C2 QDs also achieved a high initial energy density of 230.9 Wh kg−1. This work may provide a promising strategy to obtain better electrochemical performance by introducing quantum dots into Li-S cathodes.

A highly efficient absorptive and catalytic self-supporting Fe2O3/CC host for high performance Li-S batteries

The lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is a promising energy storage system because of its high energy density and low cost. However, the shuttling of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and low conductivity of the S cathode are barriers to its practical application. Fe2O3 nanorods were grown on a carbon cloth (Fe2O3/CC) by a solvothermal reaction and calcination to obtain a cathode for the battery. The mesoporous structure of the Fe2O3 and the CC conducting network facilitates lithium-ion and electron transport. Meanwhile, the nanorod arrangement results in the exposure of more Fe2O3 active sites, which improves the adsorption and rapid conversion of LiPSs. As a result, a Li–S cell using a Fe2O3/CC cathode has a high capacity of 1 250 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C with an excellent life of over 100 cycles with a capacity retention of 67%. It also has a 70% capacity retention after 1 000 cycles at 0.2 C. The excellent electrochemical performance of the Fe2O3/CC cathode indicates its potential applications in Li-S batteries.

Boron doped MXenes as redox catalyst for highly efficient and reversible polysulfide conversion

Due to the accumulation of soluble polysulfides during the process reaction process, the shuttle effect emerges and significantly impacts the electrochemical performance. The development of novel efficient catalysts and adsorbents is a very popular way to fabricate the sulfur host materials. MXene as one of the most novel and popular materials have been wildly used in electrochemical energy storage. While the limited catalytic activity and adsorption capacity hindering its application in lithium sulfur batteries. Here, we introduced boron atoms as dopants in a creative modification of MXene (B-MXene). The introduced B atoms can effectively mitigate the “shuttle effect” through chemical adsorption, owing to their electron-deficient nature. Furthermore, the introduction of boron atoms and vacancy can modify the electronic structure, enhancing the catalytic activity of MXene by providing empty perpendicular-orientation orbitals. As a result, B-MXene exhibited excellent electrochemical performance, maintaining at 943 mA h g−1 at a current density of 1.0C, after 500cycles, with a corresponding decay rate as low as 0.046 %. This work proposes an efficient strategy to fabricate highly efficient electrocatalysts for advanced lithium-sulfur batteries (Li-S batteries).

Engineering Spin State in Spinel Co3O4 nanosheets by V‐Doping for Bidirectional Catalysis of Polysulfides in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

AbstractThe slow bidirectional conversion and fast shuttling of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) remain the main obstacles that inhibit the practical application of lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs). Here, by engineering the in‐spin state of spinel oxides, V doping‐induced hexagonal nanosheets (V‐Co3O4 NS) with intermediate spin state (IS, t2g5 eg1) can form stable bond order toward LiS* based on the ligand field theory and molecular orbital theory, thus effectively accelerating the sulfur conversion kinetics. Owing to these merits, the V‐Co3O4 NS modified separator base battery achieves a high areal capacity of 15.37 mAh cm−2 with sulfur loading of 15.4 mg cm−2, and it displays a low‐capacity attenuation of 0.015% each cycle at 3.0 C for 1900 cycles.

Efficient Host Materials for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Ultrafine CoP Nanoparticles in Black Phosphorus-Carbon Composite.

The pursuit of efficient host materials to address the sluggish redox kinetics of sulfur species has been a longstanding challenge in advancing the practical application of lithium-sulfur batteries. In this study, amorphous carbon layer loaded with ultrafine CoP nanoparticles prepared by a one-step in situ carbonization/phosphating method to enhance the inhibition of 2D black phosphorus (BP) on LiPSs shuttle. The carbon coating layer facilitates accelerated electron/ion transport, enabling the active involvement of BP in the conversion of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). Concurrently, the ultra-fine CoP nanoparticles enhance the chemical anchoring ability and introduce additional catalytic sites. As a result, S@BP@C-CoP electrodes demonstrate exemplary cycling stability (with a minimal capacity decay of 0.054 % over 500 cycles at 1 C) and superior rate performance (607.1 mAh g-1 at 5 C). Moreover, at a sulfur loading of 5.5 mg cm-2, the electrode maintains an impressive reversible areal capacity of 5.45 mAh cm-2 after 50 cycles at 0.1 C. This research establishes a promising approach, leveraging black phosphorus-based materials, for developing high-efficiency Li-S batteries.

Active sites-rich zeolitic imidazolate framework/MXene heterostructure modified separator with improved Li+ transport for high-performance Li-S batteries

The inevitable shuttling of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and poor redox kinetics restrict real-world applications of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, although they have been paid plentiful attention. Herein, a thin and multifunctional heterostructure (ZIF-L/MXene), consisting of leaf-like zeolitic imidazolate framework sheets (ZIF-L) and two-dimensional layered Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets, is developed for modification of polyolefin-based separators. A good combination of the merits of the ZIF-L and MXene can hinder the restacking of MXene nanosheets and achieve a large specific surface area, thus exposing plentiful active sites for adsorption and catalytic reaction of LiPSs. Taking these obviously synergistic effects, the ZIF-L/MXene heterostructure modified separators not only alleviate the shuttling of LiPSs but also promote their kinetics conversion. Furthermore, with an improved electrolyte affinity, the ZIF-L/MXene modified separators can accelerate the transport of Li+. Thus, the modified separator endows a Li-S cell with an admirable discharge capacity of 1371.7 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C and favorable cycling stability, with a slow capacity decay ratio of 0.075% per cycle during 500 cycles. Even under a sulfur loading of ~ 4.1 mg cm-2, the Li-S battery can achieve an excellent capacity of 990.6 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C and maintain an excellent cycling performance. The novel ZIF-L/MXene heterostructure modified separator in this work can provide an alternative strategy for designing thin and light separators for high-performance Li-S batteries, via the enhancement of redox kinetics and reduction of shuttling of the LiPSs.

Metal-Coordinated Covalent Organic Frameworks as Advanced Bifunctional Hosts for Both Sulfur Cathodes and Lithium Anodes in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The shuttling of polysulfides on the cathode and the uncontrollable growth of lithium dendrites on the anode have restricted the practical application of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In this study, a metal-coordinated 3D covalent organic framework (COF) with a homogeneous distribution of nickel-bis(dithiolene) and N-rich triazine centers (namely, NiS4-TAPT) was designed and synthesized, which can serve as bifunctional hosts for both sulfur cathodes and lithium anodes in Li-S batteries. The abundant Ni centers and N-sites in NiS4-TAPT can greatly enhance the adsorption and conversion of the polysulfides. Meanwhile, the presence of Ni-bis(dithiolene) centers enables uniform Li nucleation at the Li anode, thereby suppressing the growth of Li dendrites. This work demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating catalytic and adsorption sites to optimize the chemical interactions between host materials and redox-active intermediates, potentially facilitating the rational design of metal-coordinated COF materials for high-performance secondary batteries.

Electrocatalytic Mechanism and Sabatier Principle in C2N-Supported Atomically Dispersed Catalysts for the Sulfur Reduction Reaction in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The sluggish kinetics of the sulfur reduction reaction (SRR) impedes the practical application of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). Electrocatalysts are necessary to expedite the conversion of polysulfides. Here, we systematically investigate the chemical mechanisms and size dependence of catalytic activities toward the SRR from Li2S4 to Li2S on single-, double-, and triple-atom catalysts supported on C2N (Mn@C2N, where M is a 3d transitional metal and n = 1-3) as model systems by using first-principles calculations and a comprehensive electrocatalytic model. Our results reveal that the adsorption strength of the LiS• intermediate is identified as an optimal descriptor for catalytic activity. M1@C2N exhibits superior stability and exceptional activity compared to those of the other two catalyst types. Cu1@C2N exhibits the lowest overpotential of 0.426 V. Li embedding or a prelithiation strategy verifies the therein Sabatier principle. This work emphasizes the precise control of the active site structure and microenvironment in catalytic SRR and offers guidance for the design of electrocatalysts for metal-sulfur batteries.

Interfacial synergy of nanoengineered PANI/MnO2 for strong anchoring and fast conversion of polysulfides in Li-S batteries

The shuttle of polysulfides and slow sulfur redox kinetics are the two main issues in the practical application of lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. The interface-induced electric fields produced in MnO2-based conductive composites are proposed to solve the above obstacles. Herein, a novel hybrid structure of birnessite-MnO2 nanosheets in situ formed inside polyaniline nanotubes (NSs-MnO2@PANI) is prepared and applied as a catalytic host in Li-S batteries. The DFT calculation combined with experiments reveal the interface-induced electric field with a direction pointing from PANI to birnessite-MnO2 is created, which would induce interface charge redistribution and result in electron-rich MnO2 region and electron-deficient PANI region, optimizing the strong anchoring of polysulfides and their fast catalytic conversions. Owing to the interfacial synergy, the NSs-MnO2@PANI/S cathode delivers higher capacity than PANI/S at rates from 0.1 C (1473.7 vs. 467.5 mAh g−1) to 5 C (513.2 vs. 38.1 mAh g−1), with a low decay rate of 0.054% during 500 cycles at 0.2 C. Further, at an extremely high sulfur loading of 15.9 mg cm−2, the areal capacity achieves a high level of 10.2 mAh cm−2 at 0.05 C, with stable cycling at 1 C. Our work provides new insights for attaining high-energy and stable Li-S batteries.