Bimodal Mesoporous CMK-5 Carbon: Selective Pore Filling with Sulfur and SnO₂ for Lithium Battery Electrodes

Ordered mesoporous CMK-5 carbon exhibits two distinct pore systems that can be modified individually. This work demonstrates how one of the pore systems can be selectively filled with elemental sulfur, while the other pore system remains empty. The resulting sulfur–carbon composite material with high residual porosity can be used as the cathode material in lithium–sulfur battery cells. We present a systematic investigation of the loading of CMK-5 carbon with variable relative amounts of sulfur and compare the results to the preparation of SnO2 (as well as TiO2, Mn2O3/Mn3O4, NiO) nanoparticle-loaded CMK-5 carbon.