Manipulating metal–sulfur interactions for achieving high‐performance S cathodes for room temperature Li/Na–sulfur batteries

Abstract

Rechargeable lithium/sodium-sulfur batteries working at room temperature (RT-Li/S, RT-Na/S) appear to be a promising energy storage system in terms of high theoretical energy density, low cost, and abundant resources in nature.They are, thus, considered as highly attractive candidates for future application in energy storage devices. Nevertheless, the solubility of sulfur species, sluggish kinetics of lithium/sodium sulfide compounds, and high reactivity of metallic anodes render these cells unstable. As a consequence, metal-sulfur batteries present low reversible capacity and quick capacity loss, which hinder their practical application. Investigations to address these issues regarding S cathodes are critical to the increase of their performance and our fundamental understanding of RT-Li/S and RT-Na/S battery systems. Metal-sulfur interactions, recently, have attracted considerable attention, and there have been new insights on pathways to high-performance RT-Li/Na sulfur batteries, due to the following factors: (1) deliberate construction of metal-sulfur interactions can enable a leap in capacity; (2) metal-sulfur interactions can confine S species, as well as sodium sulfide compounds, to stop shuttle effects; (3) traces of metal species can help to encapsulate a high loading mass of sulfur with high-cost efficiency; and (4) metal components make electrodes more conductive. In this review, we highlight the latest progress in sulfide immobilization via constructing metal bonding between various metals and S cathodes. Also, we summarize the storage mechanisms of Li/Na as well as the metal-sulfur interaction mechanisms. Furthermore, the current challenges and future remedies in terms of intact confinement and optimization of the electrochemical performance of RT-Li/Na sulfur systems are discussed in this review.

Exploration of the Unique Structural Chemistry of Sulfur Cathode for High‐Energy Rechargeable Beyond‐Li Batteries

“…[ 44 ] During metal‐ion insertion, polysulfides are formed by accepting metal ions and electrons via electrolyte and external circuits. [ 23,45 ] The metal–sulfur battery systems result in different voltage profiles and storage capacity; however, a similar reaction mechanism occurs in all metal–sulfur systems with a phase transition from solid to liquid to solid during the discharge process. [ 45,46 ]…”

“…[ 23,45 ] The metal–sulfur battery systems result in different voltage profiles and storage capacity; however, a similar reaction mechanism occurs in all metal–sulfur systems with a phase transition from solid to liquid to solid during the discharge process. [ 45,46 ]…”

Status and perspectives of hierarchical porous carbon materials in terms of high‐performance lithium–sulfur batteries

“…Moreover, the formations of Li dendrites and an unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Li metal anodes cause low Coulombic efficiency (CE), continuous consumption of electrolytes, and safety concerns. [15][16][17] Extensive research has been conducted to tackle the aforementioned problems with the aim of improving the performance of Li-S batteries. The main methods for solving the issues caused by sulfur cathodes and PSs are to improve the conductivity of the battery system and physically constrain PS ions by introducing carbonaceous materials as conductive hosts for cathodes 18 and as coating layers for separators.…”

“…The large volumetric expansion (80 vol%) during the conversion from S into Li 2 S also leads to fracture or delamination of electrodes. Moreover, the formations of Li dendrites and an unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Li metal anodes cause low Coulombic efficiency (CE), continuous consumption of electrolytes, and safety concerns 15–17 …”

Advanced TexSy-C Nanocomposites for High-Performance Lithium Ion Batteries

“…Lithium-tellurium (Li-Te) batteries have attracted increasing attention owing to their high theoretical volume capacity ( Liu et al, 2014 ; Ding et al, 2015 ; Li et al, 2017 ; Li G. et al, 2018 ; Yin et al, 2018 ; Wenjie Han et al, 2021 ), excellent electronic conductivity ( He et al, 2017 ), and relieved shuttle effects compared to Li-sulfur, Li-selenium batteries ( Yang et al, 2013 ; Eftekhari, 2017 ; Li Y. et al, 2018 ; Fan et al, 2019 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Yu et al, 2020 ; Dai et al, 2021 ; Sun et al, 2021 ; Xiao et al, 2021 ). However, the huge volume expansion of Te severely deteriorates its practical applications towards the newly emerged battery systems.…”