A Revolution in Electrodes: Recent Progress in Rechargeable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

As a promising candidate for future batteries, the lithium-sulfur battery is gaining increasing interest due to its high capacity and energy density. However, over the years, lithium-sulfur batteries have been plagued by fading capacities and the low Coulombic efficiency derived from its unique electrochemical behavior, which involves solid-liquid transition reactions. Moreover, lithium-sulfur batteries employ metallic lithium as the anode, which engenders safety vulnerability of the battery. The electrodes play a pivotal role in the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. A leap forward in progress of lithium-sulfur batteries is always accompanied by a revolution in the electrode technology. In this review, recent progress in rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries is summarized in accordance with the evolution of the electrodes, including the diversified cathode design and burgeoning metallic-lithium-free anodes. Although the way toward application has still many challenges associated, recent progress in lithium-sulfur battery technology still paints an encouraging picture of a revolution in rechargeable batteries.

Porous nanoarchitectures of spinel-type transition metal oxides for electrochemical energy storage systems

“…The distribution of the cations between these two sites is highly dependent upon the nature of the cations incorporated into the structure. In normal spinels, the divalent A and trivalent B cations occupy the tetrahedral and octahedral sites, respectively, as in Co 3 4 . In addition to the electrical behaviour, the catalytic properties of spinel-type transition metal oxides towards chemical or electrochemical reactions (e.g., Co oxidation, oxygen reduction/evolution, and redox conversion of NO and CO mixtures) have been found to be determined by the nature of the surface, namely, the atomic arrangement and coordination on the oxide surface.…”

“…Therefore, clean energy production from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower has been extensively studied by many researchers and scientists. [1][2][3][4][5] At the same time, the high demand for portable electronic devices, electric vehicles (EVs), and large-scale stationary energy storage systems will further promote the rapid growth of energy storage markets.…”

Structural Design of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries: From Fundamental Research to Practical Application

“…3). There have been several reviews that expand on these topics and can be found in the references [106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118] (Fig. 5).…”

Dual confinement of sulphur with rGO-wrapped microporous carbon from β-cyclodextrin nanosponges as a cathode material for Li–S batteries

“…Theoretically, the S cathode can deliver a specific energy of 2600 W h kg -1 , about five times higher than those of available insertion-materials of Li-ion batteries at a significantly lower cost [3]. The development of Li/S system faces several challenges such as low degree of sulphur utilization, gradual capacity fading, poor rate capability and low Coulombic efficiency mainly due to low conductivity of S8 (5 × 10 −30 S cm −1 ), solubility of intermediate polysulphides, shuttling of polysulphides and lack of morphology restoration at electrode reoxidation [4]. S8 cathode usually discharges in two plateaus;…”