Two-dimensional boron nitride as a sulfur fixer for high performance rechargeable aluminum-sulfur batteries

Abstract Aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs) are regarded as promising candidates for post-lithium-ion batteries due to their lack of flammability and electrochemical performance comparable to other metal-ion batteries. The lack of suitable cathode materials, however, has hindered the development of high-performing AIBs. Sulfur is a cost-efficient material, having distinguished electrochemical properties, and is considered an attractive cathode material for AIBs. Several pioneering reports have shown that aluminum-sulfur batteries (ASBs) exhibit superior electrochemical capacity over other cathode materials for AIBs. However, a rapid decay in the capacity is a huge barrier for their practical applications. Here, we have demonstrated systematically for the first time that the two-dimensional layered materials (e.g. MoS2, WS2, and BN) can serve as fixers of S and sulfide compounds during repeated charge/discharge processes; BN/S/C displays the highest capacity of 532 mAh g−1 (at a current density of 100 mA g−1) compared with the current state-of-the-art cathode material for AIBs. Further, we could improve the life-span of ASBs to an unprecedented 300 cycles with a high Coulombic efficiency of 94.3%; discharge plateaus at ~1.15 V vs. AlCl4−/Al was clearly observed during repeated charge/discharge cycling. We believe that this work opens up a new method for achieving high-performing ASBs.