Nitrogen-doped graphene-supported Fe-Ni dual-atom catalysts for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Owing to the high theoretical energy density, lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) have been regarded as a highly competitive technology for next-generation energy storage systems. However, the commercial deployment of LSBs is affected by the diffusional loss of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and the inherently slow electrochemical conversion rates. Dual atom catalysts (DACs) have emerged as one of the most promising catalytic materials for LSB by expediting the kinetic conversion of LiPSs and facilitate the formation/decomposition of Li 2 S during the battery cycling process, thereby reducing the migration of LiPSs. In this study, we developed Fe-Ni DACs supported on nitrogen-doped few-layer graphene (FeNi-N-G) as a host for sulfur cathode. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results demonstrate that this few-layer graphene structure provides high conductivity and a porous framework, which significantly improves electron and lithium-ion transport. The dual-functional Fe-Ni–N site serve as strong anchoring centers for polysulfides while simultaneously providing active sites to improve the Li–S redox kinetics. Consequently, the cathode achieves a high initial capacity of 1164.6 mAh g −1 and maintains a capacity retention of 83.1% after 100 cycles at 0.2 C. Such performance underscores its exceptional cycling durability, particularly under high sulfur loading conditions.