Modification of separators with neodymium oxide/graphene composite to enhance lithium-sulfur battery performance

Lithium-sulfur (Li–S) batteries have generated significant attention due to their high theoretical specific capacity and energy density among a host of energy storage power devices. Nevertheless, the lithium polysulfide dissolution shuttle that occurs within Li–S batteries will lead to capacity deterioration and inadequate cycling stability. In the paper, we proposed a measure to deal with the above problems by modifying the separator with Nd2O3/graphene composite in Li–S batteries. Graphene's special chemical properties and structural qualities make it an excellent choice for Li–S batteries. Meanwhile, Nd2O3 has a strong binding affinity with lithium polysulfide due to its low electronegativity, which exhibits Lewis's acidity and forms strong interactions with lithium polysulfide, which is strongly Lewis basic. By utilizing these advantageous properties, Li–S batteries assembling Nd2O3-decorated reduced graphite oxide modified polypropylene separators (Nd2O3/RGO/PP) demonstrate outstanding electrochemical performance, including a mere 0.0525% capacity attenuation rate under 2 C during 1000 cycles and with exceptional rate performance of 614 mAh/g even at 3 C. This study presents valuable knowledge for effectively modifying separators using rare earth oxides to incorporate graphene, ultimately promoting the practical application of Li–S batteries.