Transforming Waste into Valuable Resources: Mo2C Nanoparticles Modified Waste Pinecone-Derived Carbon as an Effective Sulfur Host for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

In this paper, the natural waste pinecone as a carbon precursor for the generation of satisfactory sulfur host materials in lithium-sulfur batteries was realized by introducing molybdenum carbide nanoparticles into the derived carbon structure. The conductive pinecone-derived carbon doped with N, O reveals an expansive specific surface area, facilitating the accommodation of a higher sulfur load. Moreover, the integration of Mo₂C nanoparticles also significantly enhances its chemical affinity and catalytic capacity for polysulfides (LiPSs) to alleviate the shuttle effect and accelerate sulfur redox conversion. As a result, the WPC-Mo₂C/S electrode displays excellent electrochemical performance, including a low capacity decay rate of 0.074% per cycle during 600 cycles at 1 C and an outstanding rate capacity (631.2 mAh g^-1 at 3 C). Moreover, with a high sulfur loading of 5.5 mg cm^-2, the WPC-Mo₂C/S electrode shows a high area capacity of 5.1 mAh cm^-2 after 60 cycles at 0.2 C.