Natural hematite-derived NiFe2O4 as a separator modification material for improved Li–S battery performance†

Abstract

The shuttling effect of polysulfides in lithium–sulfur batteries seriously affects their performance. Herein, NiFe₂O₄ derived from natural hematite is coated on a PP separator (NFO@PP), which can effectively block the shuttling of polysulfides and has strong adsorption and catalytic capabilities. The NFO@PP cell has an initial capacity of up to 1258.1 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1C and still has 809.6 mA h g⁻¹ at 2C. Impressively, at 0.5C, the NFO@PP cell retains a specific capacity of 612.1 mA h g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles. The successful application of abundant natural hematite in lithium–sulfur batteries will certainly be of great significance to the development of more cost-effective energy storage devices.