Well-dispersed sulfur anchored on interconnected polypyrrole nanofiber network as high performance cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries

Abstract

Abstract Preparation of novel sulfur/polypyrrole (S/PPy) composite consisting well-dispersed sulfur particles anchored on interconnected PPy nanowire network was demonstrated. In such hybrid structure, the as-prepared PPy clearly displays a three-dimensionally cross-linked and hierarchical porous structure, which was utilized in the composite cathode as a conductive network trapping soluble polysulfide intermediates and enhancing the overall electrochemical performance of the system. Benefiting from this unique structure, the S/PPy composite demonstrated excellent cycling stability, resulting in a discharge capacity of 931 mAh g−1 at the second cycle and retained about 54% of this value over 100 cycles at 0.1 C. Furthermore, the S/PPy composite cathode exhibits a good rate capability with a discharge capacity of 584 mAh g−1 at 1 C.