Intercalation-type catalyst for non-aqueous room temperature sodium-sulfur batteries

Ambient-temperature sodium-sulfur (Na-S) batteries are potential attractive alternatives to lithium-ion batteries owing to their high theoretical specific energy of 1,274 Wh kg⁻¹ based on the mass of Na₂S and abundant sulfur resources. However, their practical viability is impeded by sodium polysulfide shuttling. Here, we report an intercalation-conversion hybrid positive electrode material by coupling the intercalation-type catalyst, MoTe₂, with the conversion-type active material, sulfur. In addition, MoTe₂ nanosheets vertically grown on graphene flakes offer abundant active catalytic sites, further boosting the catalytic activity for sulfur redox. When used as a composite positive electrode and assembled in a coin cell with excess Na, a discharge capacity of 1,081 mA h gs⁻¹ based on the mass of S with a capacity fade rate of 0.05% per cycle over 350 cycles at 0.1 C rate in a voltage range of 0.8 to 2.8 V is realized under a high sulfur loading of 3.5 mg cm⁻² and a lean electrolyte condition with an electrolyte-to-sulfur ratio of 7 μL mg⁻¹. A fundamental understanding of the electrocatalysis of MoTe₂ is further revealed by in-situ synchrotron-based operando X-ray diffraction and ex-situ time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry.