Undercoordinated Molybdenum Catalysts Enable Ultrafast Quasi‐Solid Sulfur Chemistry in Sodium‐Sulfur Batteries

Room-temperature sodium─sulfur (RT Na─S) batteries face sluggish redox kinetics and severe polysulfide shuttling. Here, a quasi-solid-state redox pathway is activated via an unsaturated coordination chemistry strategy, in which unsaturated MoS<sub>2</sub> anchored on cross-linked carbon microspheres forms a multifunctional sulfur host (S@U-MoS<sub>2</sub>/C) that combines strong polysulfide adsorption with accelerated redox kinetics. Structural and electronic analyses show unsaturated Mo sites act as Lewis acid centers for rapid, selective polysulfide conversion. In situ transmission electron microscopy with newly developed Na-ion diffusion descriptors visualize ultrafast nanoscale sodiation dynamics and quantify Na-ion transport. Consequently, the S@U-MoS<sub>2</sub>/C cathode delivers an impressive capacity of 933 mAh g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup> after 150 cycles at 200 mA g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup> and retains 425 mAh g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup> after 30 000 cycles at 10 A g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup>. This work provides a mechanistic blueprint for designing high-rate, long-life Na─S batteries by coupling catalysis with structural confinement.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2026-03-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.72912
Primary Topic
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
Type
article
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article

Undercoordinated Molybdenum Catalysts Enable Ultrafast Quasi‐Solid Sulfur Chemistry in Sodium‐Sulfur Batteries

Qian Yao, Langli Luo, Nana Wang, Yameng Fan et al.
Advanced Materials
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
article

Undercoordinated Molybdenum Catalysts Enable Ultrafast Quasi‐Solid Sulfur Chemistry in Sodium‐Sulfur Batteries

Qian Yao, Langli Luo, Nana Wang, Yameng Fan, Xin Gao, Yubing Hu, Ziwei Tong, Shixue Dou, Guoxiu Wang, Zhongchao Bai, Bernt Johannessen, Rui Li, Mingyue Wang
article en

Abstract

Room-temperature sodium─sulfur (RT Na─S) batteries face sluggish redox kinetics and severe polysulfide shuttling. Here, a quasi-solid-state redox pathway is activated via an unsaturated coordination chemistry strategy, in which unsaturated MoS<sub>2</sub> anchored on cross-linked carbon microspheres forms a multifunctional sulfur host (S@U-MoS<sub>2</sub>/C) that combines strong polysulfide adsorption with accelerated redox kinetics. Structural and electronic analyses show unsaturated Mo sites act as Lewis acid centers for rapid, selective polysulfide conversion. In situ transmission electron microscopy with newly developed Na-ion diffusion descriptors visualize ultrafast nanoscale sodiation dynamics and quantify Na-ion transport. Consequently, the S@U-MoS<sub>2</sub>/C cathode delivers an impressive capacity of 933 mAh g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup> after 150 cycles at 200 mA g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup> and retains 425 mAh g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup> after 30 000 cycles at 10 A g<sup>-</sup> <sup>1</sup>. This work provides a mechanistic blueprint for designing high-rate, long-life Na─S batteries by coupling catalysis with structural confinement.

Advanced Materials
University of Technology Sydney (AU), University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (CN), Shandong University (CN), Tianjin University (CN), University of Wollongong (AU), Australian Synchrotron (AU), Tsinghua–Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
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Undercoordinated Molybdenum Catalysts Enable Ultrafast Quasi‐Solid Sulfur Chemistry in Sodium‐Sulfur Batteries — Qian Yao, Langli Luo, et al. · Advanced Materials (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS