Intimately-coordinated carbon nitride-metal sulfide with high π-d conjugation for efficient battery performance

In this investigation, a hybrid of metal sulfide and carbon nitride (CN) is synthesized by in-situ chemical conversion between metallic species and a single precursor of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur elements through a strong π-d conjugation approach. It is observed that the local chemical alteration in the vicinity of N atom in the CN template triggers the formation of a highly π-conjugated CN system and efficient π-d hybridization at heterointerface. This is accelerated by partial substitution of the Fe atom for Mn ions in the MnS phase which significantly enhances the battery performance, delivering 2031 mA h g⁻¹ after 500 cycles with inverse capacity growth. Via systematic in-depth characterizations, it is found that the gradual increase of Li-ion diffusion coefficients and charge transfer kinetics for repeated cycling is ascribed to the highly dispersed and uniform particles that are confined within the CN template through a strong π-d hybridization.