Researchers from the Republic of Korea’s Chung-Ang University have developed a novel interlayer material that could significantly improve lithium-sulfur battery performance.
Led by associate professors Seung-Keun Park (Advanced Materials Engineering) and Inho Nam (Chemical Engineering), the team demonstrated a dual-level engineering strategy using metal-organic framework-derived porous carbon nanofibres embedded with low-coordinated cobalt single-atom catalysts.
Published in Advanced Fiber Materials, the study addresses key limitations in lithium-sulfur systems, including the polysulfide shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics.
“Our motivation lies in addressing the fundamental materials challenges that have limited the development of next-generation energy storage systems,” said Dr Park. “Lithium-ion batteries have been widely adopted but are approaching their intrinsic energy density limits. Lithium sulfur batteries offer much higher theoretical capacity and energy density, yet they are severely restricted by the polysulfide shuttle effect, slow redox kinetics, and rapid capacity fading. Our group has long been committed to overcoming these bottlenecks by combining structural engineering of carbon frameworks with atomic-level catalyst design.”
The team’s approach embeds cobalt atoms in a low-coordinated N3 environment within a carbon nanofibre network, enhancing polysulfide adsorption and redox activity. The result is improved cycle stability and rate performance.
“Our material is free standing, binder free and flexible. It can be directly applied as an interlayer in pouch cells and has been demonstrated to maintain mechanical integrity even under bending, while powering small devices,” added Dr Nam.
This interlayer innovation could support safer, more efficient batteries – advancing clean energy adoption across sectors, reducing dependence on raw materials and lowering costs.
Read the study here.
