Building composite of layered yttrium hydroxide and carbon nanotube as the sulfur host for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

The commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries is still confronting with great challenges due to the sluggish redox kinetics of sulfur and the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPS). Herein, two-dimensional (2D) layered yttrium hydroxide (LYH) nanosheets are in-situ grown on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and used as a multifunctional host material (LYH@CNT) for sulfur loading. The crosslinked CNTs provide a robust and conductive network for quick charge transfer and sufficient active site exposure, while LYH nanosheets demonstrate strong ability for anchor and catalytic conversion of lithium polysulfides. The theoretical calculation and adsorption experiment also confirm the strong adsorption of LYH for lithium polysulfides. Therefore, sulfur loaded on LYH@CNT exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, such as a good cycling stability with a capacity of 484 mAh g-1 after 800 cycles at 2C. This study opens a new avenue in the development of advanced sulfur hosts for lithium-sulfur batteries.