High-Performance Na-Ion Storage of S-Doped Porous Carbon Derived from Conjugated Microporous Polymers

Highlights S-doped porous carbons (SCs) derived from conjugated microporous polymers were synthesized for Na-ion batteries. The SCs exhibited a high capacity of 440 mAh g −1 at 50 mA g −1 and excellent cycling performance. Ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to investigate the electrochemical reaction mechanism of the SCs. Na-ion batteries (NIBs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to the high abundance and low cost of Na. It is well known that S doping can improve the electrochemical performance of carbon materials for NIBs. However, the current methods for S doping in carbons normally involve toxic precursors or rigorous conditions. In this work, we report a creative and facile strategy for preparing S-doped porous carbons (SCs) via the pyrolysis of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs). Briefly, thiophene-based CMPs served as the precursors and doping sources simultaneously. Simple direct carbonization of CMPs produced S-doped carbon materials with highly porous structures. When used as an anode for NIBs, the SCs exhibited a high reversible capacity of 440 mAh g −1 at 50 mA g −1 after 100 cycles, superior rate capability, and excellent cycling stability (297 mAh g −1 after 1000 cycles at 500 mA g −1 ), outperforming most S-doped carbon materials reported thus far. The excellent performance of the SCs is attributed to the expanded lattice distance after S doping. Furthermore, we employed ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate the electrochemical reaction mechanism of the SCs during sodiation–desodiation, which can highlight the role of doped S for Na-ion storage.