ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Chem.
Sec. Electrochemistry
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2025.1633529
This article is part of the Research TopicElectrochemistry of Rechargeable Aqueous Metal-ion batteries: Recent Advances and Future OpportunitiesView all articles
Elucidating the Aluminum Storage Mechanism in Cobalt Sulfide Cathode Materials for Advanced Batteries
Provisionally accepted
Ruiyuan Zhuang1,2*
Yongqing Li1Junhong Wang1Jianfeng Zhan1Jiangnan Yan1Yaru Chen1Wenhui Mo1Jun Zhang1,3*- 1Jiaxing Nanhu University, Jiaxing, China
- 2Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- 3Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Rechargeable aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs), as novel energy storage systems featuring low-cost, high-energy density, and superior safety, demonstrate promising potential as a next-generation battery technology. However, the lack of high-performance cathode materials remains a critical barrier to practical implementation. In this study, highly crystalline cobalt sulfide (Co9S8) nanoparticles were synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal method and systematically evaluated their electrochemical performance and energy storage mechanisms in AIBs. Structural characterization revealed that while the synthesized material maintained high crystallinity, it formed agglomerates during the synthesis process that induced severe electrode polarization and limited ion diffusion kinetics. Electrochemical analysis demonstrated a reversible capacity of 48 mAh g -1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g -1 , indicating moderate cycling stability. DFT calculations with Bader charge analysis provided atomic-scale insights, revealing that Al 3+ preferentially occupies Co lattice sites through a pseudo-isomorphic substitution mechanism, exhibiting a 52.5% lower formation energy compared to S-site substitution. This work establishes critical correlations between morphological characteristics and electrochemical performance while proposing a novel cation substitution mechanism for energy storage. These findings provide fundamental insights for designing high-kinetics transition metal sulfide cathodes and advance the development of practical multivalent-ion battery systems.
Keywords: Aluminum-ion batteries, Co9S8 cathode, Pseudomorphic substitution, reaction kinetics, Electrochemical performance, Density Functional Theory
Received: 22 May 2025; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhuang, Li, Wang, Zhan, Yan, Chen, Mo and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ruiyuan Zhuang, Jiaxing Nanhu University, Jiaxing, China
Jun Zhang, Jiaxing Nanhu University, Jiaxing, China
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