Bidirectional enhancement of Li2S redox reaction by NiSe2/CoSe2-rGO heterostructured bi-functional catalysts

The high activity barriers of Li2S nucleation and deposition limit the redox reaction kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), meanwhile, the significant shuttle effect of LiPSs hampers the advancement of Li-S batteries (LSBs). In this work, a NiSe2/CoSe2-rGO (NiSe2/CoSe2-G) sulfur host with bifunctional catalytic activity was prepared through a hard template method. Electrochemical experiment results confirm that the combination of NiSe2 and CoSe2 not only facilitates the bidirectional catalytic function during charge and discharge processes, but also increases the active sites toward LiPSs adsorption. Simultaneously, the highly conductive rGO network enhances the electronic conductivity of NiSe2/CoSe2-G/S and provides convenience for loading NiSe2/CoSe2 catalysts. Benefitting from the exceptional catalytic-adsorption capability of NiSe2/CoSe2 and the presence of rGO, the NiSe2/CoSe2-G/S electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical properties. At 1C, it demonstrates a low capacity attenuation of 0.087 % per cycle during 500 cycles. The electrode can maintain a discharge capacity of 927 mAh/g at a sulfur loading of 3.3 mg cm−2. The bidirectional catalytic activity of NiSe2/CoSe2-G offers a prospective approach to expedite the redox reactions of active S, meanwhile, this work also offers an ideal approach for designing efficient S hosts for LSBs.