Modifying the aluminum current collector/active material layer interface through physical vapor deposition technology to achieve a high-performance sulfur cathode

Abstract

Effectively restraining lithium polysulfides diffusion remains a critical challenge for designing advanced sulfur cathodes. In this study, we report a simple and scalable approach to modify the interface between the current collector and the active material layer by depositing CrN onto the Al collector via physical vapor deposition (PVD). The CrN coating offers high electrical conductivity and excellent LiPSs adsorption/catalysis properties, enabling both efficient electron conduction and accelerated reaction kinetics between elemental sulfur and Li₂S. Consequently, even after 500 cycles, the sulfur cathode with the CrN-modified Al collector can deliver a high-capacity retention of 72.9 %, which is significantly higher than that of the unmodified Al collector-based cathode (44.3 %). The superior electrochemical performance demonstrates that PVD-enabled interface modification of the current collector is an effective strategy for advancing Li-S batteries.