Rational design of nanoarray structures for lithium–sulfur batteries: recent advances and future prospects

Abstract

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are considered as promising candidates for future-generation energy storage systems due to their prominent theoretical energy density. However, their application is still hindered by several critical issues, e.g., low conductivity of sulfur species, the shuttling effects of soluble lithium polysulfides, volumetric expansion, sluggish redox kinetics, and uncontrollable Li dendritic formation. Considerable research efforts have been devoted to breaking through the obstacles that are preventing Li–S batteries from realizing practical application. Recently, benefiting from the no additives/binders, buffer of volume change, high sulfur loading and suppress lithium dendrites, the nanoarray structures have emerged as efficient and durable electrodes in Li–S batteries. Herein, recent advances in design, synthesis and application of nanoarray structures in Li–S batteries have been reviewed. First, the multifunctional merits and typical synthetic strategies of employing nanoarray structure electrodes for Li–S batteries are outlined. Second, the applications of nanoarray structures in Li–S batteries are discussed comprehensively. Finally, the challenge and rational design of nanoarray structure for Li–S batteries are analyzed in depth, with the aim of providing promising orientations for commercialization of high-energy-density Li–S batteries.

Suppression of long-chain lithium polysulfide formation through a selenium-doped linear sulfur copolymer cathode for high-performance lithium–organosulfur batteries

“…[1][2][3] Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted great attention as a promising next-generation energy storage solution due to their superior theoretical specic capacity of 1675 mA h g −1 , high energy density of 2600 W h kg −1 , environmentally friendly nature, and cost-effectiveness. [4][5][6][7] However, the practical implementation of Li-S batteries faces several challenges, including the inherent insulating nature of elemental sulfur and its discharge species (Li 2 S/Li 2 S 2 ), electrode volume variation during cycling, and the high solubility and shuttle effect of intermediate lithium polysuldes (LiPSs, Li 2 S x , 4 # x # 8). [8][9][10] These challenges contribute to low sulfur utilization, rapid capacity decay, and limited cycle life, thereby impeding the progress of Li-S batteries for practical applications.…”

Surface Orthogonal Patterning and Bidirectional Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles Tethered by V-Shaped Diblock Copolymers

“…Controlled self-assembly of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) into predetermined architectures plays a crucial role in the bottom-up fabrication of functional materials with diverse applications in sensing, catalysis, biomedicine, and other fields. − These architectures possess collective electronic, optical, and magnetic characteristics beyond those of individual NPs . However, primitively synthesized NPs are typically isotropic in shape and surface, which poses a challenge to self-assemble them in a programmable manner due to the lack of directional interactions.…”