Carbon-coated ZnS composites for lithium-ion battery anode materials

• Published in: Ionics Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 541 - 550
• Main Authors: Wang, Ansong, Chen, Xiujuan, Yu, Guoyun, Wang, Youliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anodes; Carbon; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Coated electrodes; Composite materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Discharge; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Energy Storage; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Morphology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Original Paper; Rechargeable batteries; Renewable and Green Energy; Thickness; Lithium-ion batteries; Electrochemical performances; Solvothermal method; ZnS/C composites
• ISSN: 0947-7047; 1862-0760
• DOI: 10.1007/s11581-020-03830-z

The ZnS/C composites with different carbon coating contents were successfully prepared using the solvothermal method followed by the calcination process. The obtained ZnS/C composites were characterized by XRD, SEM, and TEM. The results indicate that the morphology of 50 wt% carbon-coated ZnS/C composites possesses uniform spheres with a size of 80 nm, and the thickness of the carbon layer is 8 nm. When the prepared composites were used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the electrode made by 50 wt% carbon-coated ZnS/C composites shows an excellent initial discharge capacity of 1189.8 mAh/g, high discharge capacity of 948.9 mAh/g at a current rate of 0.1 C after 50 cycles, good cycling stability, and excellent rate capability of 744.8 mAh/g at 2.0 C. The excellent electrochemical performances make the nanosized ZnS/C composites a promising candidate for the LIBs.