Hierarchically Constructed ZnO/Co₃O₄Nanoheterostructures Synergizing Dendrite Inhibition and Polysulfide Conversion in Lithium-Sulfur Battery

The efficiency and stability of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries remain limited due to the slow redox kinetics, uncontrollable polysulfide shuttling, and irreversible lithium dendrite growth. Herein, we report a bifunctional composite of heterostructured ZnO/Co3O4 nanocrystals on a 3D hierarchical reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes skeleton (ZCNC@GC). The strong polarity of ZCNC benefits the polysulfides adsorption and uniform Li deposition, inhibiting the polysulfides shuttling, and Li dendrite growth. Meanwhile, the micro/nano interface field effect combined with the overall network conductive skeleton establishes a smooth and hierarchical conductive pathway, facilitating the charge transfer, thus accelerating the reaction kinetics. As a result, the full battery affords a rate performance of 652 mAh g-1 at 5 C and a capacity decay of only 0.034% per cycle at 5 C over 500 cycles, surpassing most Li-S batteries. This work provides a perspective on the interface engineering of electrode materials for fabricating built-in electric fields to promote the Li-S battery system.