T. Liu, et al, Sci. Rep. 2015. 5. 9307

Engineering Bi₂O₃-Bi₂S₃heterostructure for superior lithium storage

Sci. Rep. 2015. 5. 9307

T. Liu, Y. Zhao, L. Gao*, J. Ni*

Bismuth oxide may be a promising battery material due to the high gravimetric (690 mAh g(-1)) and volumetric capacities (6280 mAh cm(-3)). However, this intrinsic merit has been compromised by insufficient Li-storage performance due to poor conductivity and structural integrity. Herein, we engineer aheterostructure composed of bismuth oxide (Bi₂O₃) and bismuth sulphide (Bi₂S₃) through sulfurization of Bi₂O₃ nanosheets. Such a hierarchical Bi₂O₃-Bi₂S₃ nanostructure can be employed as efficient electrode material for Li storage, due to the high surface areas, rich porosity, and unique heterogeneous phase. The electrochemical results show that the heterostructure exhibits a high Coulombic efficiency (83.7%), stable capacity delivery (433 mAhg(-1) after 100 cycles at 600 mAg(-1)) and remarkable rate capability (295 mAhg(-1) at 6 A g(-1)), notably out performing reported bismuth based materials. Such superb performance indicates that constructing heterostructure could be a promising strategy towards high-performance electrodes for rechargeable batteries.