Sulfur‐Modified Amorphous Noble‐Metal‐Free High‐Entropy Alloy Ultra‐Thin Nanosheets for Low‐Overpotential and Long‐Lifespan Li‐O <sub>2</sub> Batteries

While noble-metal-free high-entropy alloys (NHEA) represent promising low-cost catalysts for Li-O<sub>2</sub> batteries, their catalytic capability is limited by the low metal-site utilization and unfavorable electronic structure inherent in conventional configurations. Herein, we report a novel design for a CuFeCoNiMn-NHEA catalyst, characterized by its entirely amorphous structure and the Metal─S bonds (especially Ni─S) introduced by S-doping. The successful synthesis of this catalyst relies on a rapid low-temperature strategy, where the 5°C reaction temperature limits atomic diffusion and long-range ordering, while the sub-1-min duration kinetically traps the atoms in a disordered state. Within this architecture, the ultra-thin 2D morphology, disordered atomic arrangement, and unsaturated atomic coordination offer abundant active sites by eliminating constraints from crystal planes and boundaries; simultaneously, the Metal─S bonds significantly optimize the electronic structure. The electronegativity gradient between metal and S induces electron delocalization at metal sites, which lowers the d-band center and optimizes the adsorption energy of <sup>*</sup>LiO<sub>2</sub> intermediates, thereby accelerating the redox kinetics. Meanwhile, strengthened Metal─S coordination elevates metal vacancy formation energies by 1-3 times, which suppresses atomic leaching to improve structural stability. Therefore, our unique catalyst achieves a low overpotential (0.48 V), and an exceptional lifespan (452 cycles), significantly outperforming most reported noble-metal-free catalysts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2026-02-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.72512
Primary Topic
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
Type
article
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article

Sulfur‐Modified Amorphous Noble‐Metal‐Free High‐Entropy Alloy Ultra‐Thin Nanosheets for Low‐Overpotential and Long‐Lifespan Li‐O 2 Batteries

Minghao Hua, Yingjian Nie, Luyuan Zhang, Xiaobin Hui et al.
Advanced Materials
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
article

Sulfur‐Modified Amorphous Noble‐Metal‐Free High‐Entropy Alloy Ultra‐Thin Nanosheets for Low‐Overpotential and Long‐Lifespan Li‐O 2 Batteries

Minghao Hua, Yingjian Nie, Luyuan Zhang, Xiaobin Hui, Lei Li, Yun Hua Guo, Longwei Yin, Xiaohang Lin, Chengxiang Wang, Peng Wang, Zhiwei Zhang, Jiafeng Li
article en

Abstract

While noble-metal-free high-entropy alloys (NHEA) represent promising low-cost catalysts for Li-O<sub>2</sub> batteries, their catalytic capability is limited by the low metal-site utilization and unfavorable electronic structure inherent in conventional configurations. Herein, we report a novel design for a CuFeCoNiMn-NHEA catalyst, characterized by its entirely amorphous structure and the Metal─S bonds (especially Ni─S) introduced by S-doping. The successful synthesis of this catalyst relies on a rapid low-temperature strategy, where the 5°C reaction temperature limits atomic diffusion and long-range ordering, while the sub-1-min duration kinetically traps the atoms in a disordered state. Within this architecture, the ultra-thin 2D morphology, disordered atomic arrangement, and unsaturated atomic coordination offer abundant active sites by eliminating constraints from crystal planes and boundaries; simultaneously, the Metal─S bonds significantly optimize the electronic structure. The electronegativity gradient between metal and S induces electron delocalization at metal sites, which lowers the d-band center and optimizes the adsorption energy of <sup>*</sup>LiO<sub>2</sub> intermediates, thereby accelerating the redox kinetics. Meanwhile, strengthened Metal─S coordination elevates metal vacancy formation energies by 1-3 times, which suppresses atomic leaching to improve structural stability. Therefore, our unique catalyst achieves a low overpotential (0.48 V), and an exceptional lifespan (452 cycles), significantly outperforming most reported noble-metal-free catalysts.

Advanced MaterialsVol. 38(16)
Qingdao University (CN), Shandong University (CN), Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (MY)
Openalex Percentile: Top 55%
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
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