Rational Design of MXene/1T-2H MoS₂-C Nanohybrids for High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Despite high-energy density and low cost of the lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, their commercial success is greatly impeded by their severe capacity decay during long-term cycling caused by polysulfide shuttling. Herein, a new phase engineering strategy is demonstrated for making MXene/1T-2H MoS₂-C nanohybrids for boosting the performance of Li–S batteries in terms of capacity, rate ability, and stability. It is found that the plentiful positively charged S-vacancy defects created on MXene/1T-2H MoS₂-C, proved by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance, can serve as strong adsorption and activation sites for polar polysulfide intermediates, accelerate redox reactions, and prevent the dissolution of polysulfides. As a consequence, the novel MXene/1T-2H MoS₂-C-S cathode delivers a high initial capacity of 1194.7 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 C, a high level of capacity retention of 799.3 mAh g⁻¹ after 300 cycles at 0.5 C, and reliable operation in soft-package batteries. The present MXene/1T-2H MoS₂-C becomes among the best cathode materials for Li–S batteries.