Co-construction of advanced sulfur host by implanting titanium carbide into Aspergillus niger spore carbon

It is of great importance to directionally construct advanced carbon host to achieve high-performance carbon/sulfur cathodes for lithium sulfur batteries(LSBs).Herein,we report a unique hollow pumpkinlike carbon with notable rich-wrinkle microstructure and intrinsically dual doping with N&P elements via a facile annealing process of Aspergillus niger spore.Furthermore,highly conductive polar absorbents,Ti C nanoparticles,are in situ implanted into the above Aspergillus niger spore carbon(ANSC)by carbothermal reaction,accordingly forming high-performance ANSC/TiC composite host for sulfur.Impressively,TiC nanoparticles play dual roles of not only pore formation in ANSC matrix but also enhancement of chemical absorption with polysulfides.With the positive synergistic effect between N&P co-doped ANSC matrix and Ti C polar absorbent,the designed ANSC/Ti C-S cathodes show unique advantages including larger accommodation space for sulfur,higher surface area,enhanced conductivity and better chemical absorption with soluble polysulfide intermediates.Consequently,the ANSC/Ti C-S cathodes are endowed with good rate performance(496 mAh/g at 0.5 C)and enhanced long-term cycling stability(736 mAh/g with a capacity retention of 78.8%at 0.1 C after 100 cycles).Our research opens a new door to controllably design advanced composite cathodes from microorganisms for application in lithium sulfur batteries.