Rational engineering yolk–shell In2S3@void@carbon hybrid as polysulfide-absorbable sulfur host for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

The slow redox kinetics and shuttling behavior of the intermediate lithium polysulfides constrain the further development of lithium–sulfur (Li–S) electrochemistry. A yolk–shell In₂S₃@void@carbon hybrid engineered to host the sulfur for Li–S batteries is prepared by using a multi-layered assembly method. The In₂S₃/electrolyte interface acted as powerful adsorption and activation sites for soluble polysulfides, which is demonstrated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, the carbon shell provides redundancy for volume-changes during the cycles. The results indicate that yolk–shell In₂S₃@S@C hybrid cathode shows good reversibility and rate capability, which preserves 563.6 mA h g⁻¹ after 500 cycles at 0.5 C, indicating the potential for developing high-performance battery systems.