Improving the electrochemical performance by employing V 2 O 5 spheres to inhibit the shuttle effect of soluble polysulfide

To inhibit the shuttle effect of the polysulfide in the lithium-sulfur battery, many methods have been tried, such as designing host materials for the sulfur. Among various host materials, metal oxides are the most promising candidates for the element sulfur, due to their unique chemical adsorption for the soluble polysulfide in the electrolyte. Based on this idea, in our work, metal oxide hollow sphere structured V2O5 are prepared and used as cathode host materials for the sulfur. The electrochemical results indicate that the as-prepared S/V2O5 composites show high specific capacity and superior cycle stability during the discharge and charge process. The superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to the presence of the metal V2O5 hollow spheres, which could provide unique chemical adsorption and act as vessel for the storage of the polysulfide by physical adsorption at the same time. As a result, the as-prepared S/V2O5 shows excellent lithium-ion transport ability.