Micro- and Mesoporous Carbide-Derived Carbon-Selenium Cathodes for High-Performance Lithium Selenium Batteries

Nanocomposites of selenium (Se) and ordered mesoporous silicon carbide‐derived carbon (OM‐SiC‐CDC) are prepared for the first time and studied as cathodes for lithium‐selenium (Li‐Se) batteries. The higher concentration of Li salt in the electrolytes greatly improves Se utilization and cell cycle stability. Se‐CDC shows significantly better performance characteristics than Se‐activated carbon nanocomposites with similar physical properties. Se‐CDC also exhibits better rate performance and cycle stability compared to similarly produced sulfur (S)–CDC for Li/S batteries. A novel selenium (Se) cathode is developed and studied for lithium‐selenium (Li‐Se) batteries. The combination of the hierarchical structure of carbide‐derived carbon (CDC) as the Se host and the high concentration of Li salt in the electrolytes improves the specific capacity and cycle stability of Li/Se cells. Rechargeable Se‐CDC/Li batteries show significantly better performance than similarly produced rechargeable sulfur (S)–CDC/Li batteries.