Anchoring function for polysulfide ions of ultrasmall SnS2 in hollow carbon nanospheres for high performance lithium–sulfur batteries

Tin sulfide-anchored sulfur-hollow carbon nanospheres (S/AHCNS-SnS 2 ) composites are synthesized by uniformly dispersing conductive SnS 2 particles into hollow carbon nanospheres activated with potassium hydroxide, followed by impregnating sulfur. Surface morphology and structure of this composite are characterized using a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, X-ray power diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The first discharge capacity of the sample containing 10   wt.% SnS 2 exhibits a high special capacity value of about 1237.5   mAh   g −1 at 0.2   C, and after 200 cycles retains 924   mAh   g −1 . Tin sulfide particles play a favorable role on adsorption towards polysulfides which would influence electrochemical process. This strategy of immobilization of sulfur with small amount of metal sulfide particles anchored in AHCNS provides a considerable approach to elevate the sulfur loading, coulombic efficiency, and cycling stability for Li–S batteries.