MnFeCoNiCuS high-entropy catalyst and double-shell Li₂S cathode for boosting lithium–sulfur battery performance

While lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are promising next-generation high-energy devices, the Li₂S cathode suffers from poor electrical conductivity, sluggish reaction kinetics, shuttle effect, and processing difficulty, limiting its practical applications. This work reports a new strategy to enhance Li₂S cathode performance by integrating a high-entropy sulfide catalyst, MnFeCoNiCuS, and a double-shell structure, Li₂S@Li₂S₆@Li₂S₂. The MnFeCoNiCuS catalyst was synthesized by calcining the metathesis-prepared precursors with the high-temperature shock (HTS)-based Joule heating technique. The Li₂S@Li₂S₆@Li₂S₂ structure was made by temperature-programmed heating a mixture of Li₂S and S powders. Compared with the unmodified Li₂S cathodes, the dual-composite Li₂S cathode exhibits significantly enhanced cyclability and rate performance in Li–S batteries, owing to the high-entropy sulfide with catalytic and conductive functions as well as the double-shell Li₂S@Li₂S₆@Li₂S₂ architecture with improved charge transport pathways. This study advances an insightful design concept for catalysts and cathodes toward high-performance Li–S batteries.