The research and development of advanced energy-storage systems must meet a large number of requirements, including high energy density, natural abundance of the raw material, low cost and environmental friendliness, and particularly reasonable safety. As the demands of high-performance batteries are continuously increasing, with large-scale energy storage systems and electric mobility equipment, lithium-sulfur batteries have become an attractive candidate for the new generation of high-performance batteries due to their high theoretical capacity (1675 mA h g) and energy density (2600 Wh kg). However, rapid capacity attenuation with poor cycle and rate performances make the batteries far from ideal with respect to real commercial applications. Outstanding breakthroughs and achievements have been made to alleviate these problems in the past ten years. This paper presents an overview of recent advances in lithium-sulfur battery research. We cover the research and development to date on various components of lithium-sulfur batteries, including cathodes, binders, separators, electrolytes, anodes, collectors, and some novel cell configurations. The current trends in materials selection for batteries are reviewed and various choices of cathode, binder, electrolyte, separator, anode, and collector materials are discussed. The current challenges associated with the use of batteries and their materials selection are listed and future perspectives for this class of battery are also discussed.

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Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are in the spotlight because their outstanding theoretical specific energy is much higher than those of the commercial lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries. Li-S batteries are tough competitors for futuredeveloping energy storage in the fields of portable electronics and electric vehicles. However, the severe "shuttle effect" of the polysulfides and the serious damage of lithium dendrites are main factors blocking commercial production of Li-S batteries. Owing to their superior nanostructure, electrospun nanofiber materials commonly show some unique characteristics that can simultaneously resolve these issues. So far, various novel cathodes, separators, and interlayers of electrospun nanofiber materials which are applied to resolve these challenges are researched. This review presents the fundamental research and technological development of multifarious electrospun nanofiber materials for Li-S cells, including their processing methods, structures, morphology engineering, and electrochemical performance. Not only does the review article contain a summary of electrospun nanofiber materials in Li-S batteries but also a proposal for designing electrospun nanofiber materials for Li-S cells. These systematic discussions and proposed directions can enlighten thoughts and offer ways in the reasonable design of electrospun nanofiber materials for excellent Li-S batteries in the near future.or conducting coagulation bath) is placed against the capillary. A thin polymer fiber membrane is deposited on the collector. The electrospun nanofibers have big potential for developing the outstanding energy storage systems due to their high surface area and excellent surface-to-volume ratio which can offer numerous active sites and controllable porous structure to buffer the huge volume changes during battery cycling and infiltrate the electrolyte. [18] Electrospun nanofiber membranes possess high porosity, large specific surface area, and controllable pore size, which will block "shuttle effect" of polysulfides and enhance the wettability for electrolytes. [19] Electrospinning technique and carbonization process are facile to manufacture freestanding nanofiber fabrics with controllable porous architecture and outstanding electrical conductivity. Electrospun porous nanofibers can come into a reservoir-like matrix for the reserve of active materials. First, the hierarchical pores in electrospun porous nanofibers can improve the reactive S reaction sites and block soluble polysulfides, thereby decreasing the "shuttling effect" of polysulfides during the electrochemical cycling. Second, electrospun porous fibers have excellent physical and mechanical properties, outstanding architecture, and superior electrical conductivity, which can enhance the transfer of Li-ions and electrons, endowing extraordinary electrochemical performance of the whole battery system. [20] Figure 2 shows phase and morphological evolutions of the electrospun nanofibers. By combining the electrospinning and other treatment (thermal, chem...