Tungsten nitride nanotubes as sulfur host material for high performance Li-S batteries

Herein, WN nanotubes were prepared and introuduced as sulfur host material for the first time for Li-S batteries. The as prepared WN nanotubes/S electrode shows an initial discharge capacity of 1067.6 mAh g-1 with a good cycling stability at a rate of 0.1C. In particular, the WN nanotubes/S electrode exhibits an initial specific capacity of 841.6 mAh g-1 at a high rate of 1C, and remains 440.4 mAh g-1 after 400 cycles. The excellent performances are attributed to the significant roles that WN nanotubes host played during the charge/discharge process.