Synergistic Catalysis on Dual-Atom Sites for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries promise ultrahigh theoretical energy density and attract great attention as next-generation energy storage devices. However, the sluggish sulfur redox kinetics severely restricts the practical performances of Li-S batteries. Introducing electrocatalysts can accelerate the sulfur redox kinetics and enhance the discharge capacity and rate performances, where advanced electrocatalysts are required for better performance promotion. Herein, a Fe-Co-based dual-atom catalyst (DAC) is adopted to accelerate the sulfur redox kinetics and construct high-performance Li-S batteries. The unique structure of the dual-atom site allows synergistic effect between the adjacent metal atoms, thus enhancing the interactions with lithium polysulfides and promoting the sulfur redox kinetics over the single-atom counterparts. As a result, Li-S batteries with DAC afford a high discharge capacity of 1034.6 mAh g(-1) at 0.1 C and excellent rate performances of 728.0 mAh g(-1) at 4.0 C. The introduction of DAC demonstrates the promising potential of applying advanced materials for constructing high-performance Li-S batteries.