Transforming Waste into Valuable Resources: Mo2C Nanoparticles Modified Waste Pinecone-Derived Carbon as an Effective Sulfur Host for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

In this paper, the natural waste pinecone as a carbon precursor for the generation of satisfactory sulfur host materials in lithium–sulfur batteries was realized by introducing molybdenum carbide nanoparticles into the derived carbon structure. The conductive pinecone-derived carbon doped with N, O reveals an expansive specific surface area, facilitating the accommodation of a higher sulfur load. Moreover, the integration of Mo2C nanoparticles also significantly enhances its chemical affinity and catalytic capacity for polysulfides (LiPSs) to alleviate the shuttle effect and accelerate sulfur redox conversion. As a result, the WPC-Mo2C/S electrode displays excellent electrochemical performance, including a low capacity decay rate of 0.074% per cycle during 600 cycles at 1 C and an outstanding rate capacity (631.2 mAh g−1at 3 C). Moreover, with a high sulfur loading of 5.5 mg cm−2, the WPC-Mo2C/S electrode shows a high area capacity of 5.1 mAh cm−2after 60 cycles at 0.2 C.