Atomic Sulfur Anchored on Silicene, Phosphorene, and Borophene for Excellent Cycle Performance of Li-S Batteries.

Dissolution of intermediate lithium polysulfides (LiPS) is an inevitable obstacle for the solid sulfur-based cathode in Li-S batteries. For the first time, herein, atomic sulfur is incorporated into silicene, phosphorene, and borophene to intrinsically eliminate the dissolution of LiPS. The small molecular sulfur species are anchored on the silicene surface with stronger Si-S interaction than the P-S and B-S ones. Meanwhile, a high atomic sulfur coverage (63.1 wt %) is achieved in silicene and concomitantly stabilizes the silicene layer. For the S3-covered silicene, a high theoretical capacity of 857 mA h g-1 is achieved with slight dissolution of LiPS originated from the loss of interior S atoms that are not directly bound with silicene surface. By realizing the elemental S2 coverage on silicene with large surface area, the Li+ ions can react fast with the S2 species, leading to a high theoretical capacity of 891 mA h g-1 without dissolution and migration of the intermediate LiPS. Most interestingly, the discharge products of atomic layer of lithium sulfides on silicene surface exhibit completely different behaviors from the traditional discharge products of solid Li2S, which can function as effective adsorption and activation sites for the conversion of LiPS from long chain to short chain by accelerated redox reaction. The present study gains some key insights into how the atomic sulfur contributes to the intrinsic shuttle inhibition and offers a feasible way to design the atomic sulfur-based cathode materials of Li-S batteries with better electrochemical performance.