New Covalent Triazine Framework Rich in Nitrogen and Oxygen as a Host Material for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have been widely considered as the next-generation energy storage system but hindered by the soluble polysulfide intermediate-induced shuttle effect. Doping heteroatoms was confirmed to enhance the affinity of polysulfide and the carbon host, release the shuttle effect, and improve the battery performance. To enhance the Lewis acidity and reinforce the interaction between polysulfide and the carbon skeleton, a novel covalent triazine framework (CTFO) was designed and fabricated by copolymerizing 2,4,6-triphenoxy-s-triazine and 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine through Friedel–Crafts alkylation. Polymerization led to triazine substitution on the para-position of the phenoxy groups of 2,4,6-triphenoxy-triazine and produced two-dimensional three-connected honeycomb nanosheets. These nanosheets were confirmed to exhibit packing in the AB style through the intralayer π–π interaction to form a three-dimensional layered network with micropores of 0.5 nm. The practical and simulated results manifested the enhanced polysulfide capture capability due to the abundant N and O heteroatoms in CTFO. The unique porous polar network endowed CTFO with improved Li–S battery performance with high Coulombic efficiency, rate capability, and cycling stability. The S@CTFO cathode delivered an initial discharge capacity of 791 mAh g–1 at 1C and retained a residual capacity of 512 mAh g–1 after 300 charge–discharge cycles with an attenuation rate of 0.117%. The present results confirmed that multiple heteroatom doping enhances the interaction between the porous polar CTF skeleton and polysulfide intermediates to improve the Li–S battery performance.