Promoting Electrochemical Reactions with Dual‐Atom Catalysts for High‐Rate Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Sulfur cathodes offer a promising solution for high-energy-density, cost-effective, and sustainable energy storage. However, their practical application is limited by sluggish and complex multistep sulfur redox reactions (SRRs), involving both electrochemical and chemical processes. Herein, it is demonstrated that accelerating electrochemical processes, particularly Li<sub>2</sub>S nucleation, over competing chemical pathways is fundamental to minimizing sulfur loss and achieving high-rate performance. To this end, a scalable and cost-effective strategy is presented for synthesizing a series of 3d transition metal-bismuth (TM-Bi) atomic pairs anchored on carbon nitride (CN) and investigate their potential to activate SRRs in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). An initial screening identifies Ni-Bi/CN and Co-Bi/CN as highly effective in improving rate performance. Detailed analysis shows these catalysts promote direct electrochemical transitions and rapid Li<sub>2</sub>S nucleation over competing chemical reactions, enabling high charge-discharge rates while preventing active material loss and enhancing stability. Electrochemical analysis, density functional theory, and operando spectroscopy reveal that TM-Bi pairing shifts d-band states closer to the Fermi level and modulates HOMO-LUMO levels, promoting lithium polysulfide (LiPS) interaction and facilitating efficient charge transfer. These findings offer valuable insights for designing advanced catalysts for LSBs and broader electrocatalytic applications.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2025-09-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202511345
Citations
6
Primary Topic
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.38
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Promoting Electrochemical Reactions with Dual‐Atom Catalysts for High‐Rate Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

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Promoting Electrochemical Reactions with Dual‐Atom Catalysts for High‐Rate Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Jinyuan Zhou, Oleg Usoltsev, Chaoyue Zhang, Jordi Arbiol, Laura Simonelli, Canhuang Li, Jing Yu, Marc Botifoll, Yan Qing Lu, François Fauth, Jordi Llorca, Zhifu Liang, Andreu Cabot, Chaoqi Zhang, Ivan Pinto‐Huguet, Chen Huang, Kapil Gupta, Liqiang Lu, Xuan Lu, Irina Martynova
article en
6 citations

Abstract

Sulfur cathodes offer a promising solution for high-energy-density, cost-effective, and sustainable energy storage. However, their practical application is limited by sluggish and complex multistep sulfur redox reactions (SRRs), involving both electrochemical and chemical processes. Herein, it is demonstrated that accelerating electrochemical processes, particularly Li<sub>2</sub>S nucleation, over competing chemical pathways is fundamental to minimizing sulfur loss and achieving high-rate performance. To this end, a scalable and cost-effective strategy is presented for synthesizing a series of 3d transition metal-bismuth (TM-Bi) atomic pairs anchored on carbon nitride (CN) and investigate their potential to activate SRRs in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). An initial screening identifies Ni-Bi/CN and Co-Bi/CN as highly effective in improving rate performance. Detailed analysis shows these catalysts promote direct electrochemical transitions and rapid Li<sub>2</sub>S nucleation over competing chemical reactions, enabling high charge-discharge rates while preventing active material loss and enhancing stability. Electrochemical analysis, density functional theory, and operando spectroscopy reveal that TM-Bi pairing shifts d-band states closer to the Fermi level and modulates HOMO-LUMO levels, promoting lithium polysulfide (LiPS) interaction and facilitating efficient charge transfer. These findings offer valuable insights for designing advanced catalysts for LSBs and broader electrocatalytic applications.

Advanced MaterialsVol. 38(2)
Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Lanzhou University of Technology (CN), Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (DE), ALBA Synchrotron (Spain) (ES), Barcelona Graduate School of Mathematics (ES), Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ES), Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya (ES), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), Lanzhou University (CN), Fuzhou University (CN), Fujian University of Technology (CN), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES), Shanghai Maritime University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
4.38
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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