Rational design of sulfur-containing composites for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

Sulfur has received considerable attention as a cathode material for lithium− −sulfur (Li− −S) batteries due to its high theoretical energy density (2567 W h kg −1), high earth abundance, and environmental benignity. However, the insulating nature of sulfur and the shuttle effect of soluble lithium polysulfides result in serious technical issues, such as low utilization rate of sulfur, reduced columbic efficiency, and poor cycling stability, which compromise the high theoretical performance of Li− −S batteries. In the past years, various attempts have been made to achieve high specific capacity and reliable cycling stability of Li− −S batteries. Incorporation of sulfur into functional host materials has been demonstrated to be effective to improve the electrochemical performance of sulfur-based cathodes via enhancing the electron and Li ion conductivities, immobilizing sulfur/lithium polysulfides in cathodes, and accommodating the volume changes in sulfur-based cathodes. Therefore, the rational design of sulfur-containing composites needs to be emphasized as key strategies to develop high-performance cathodes for Li− −S batteries. In this perspective, after reviewing the achievements obtained in the design of sulfur-containing composites as cathodes for Li− −S batteries, we propose the new issues that should be overcome to facilitate the practical application of Li− −S batteries.

Critical Role of Functional Groups Containing N, S, and O on Graphene Surface for Stable and Fast Charging Li‐S Batteries

“…[6,7] In the last decades, many studies have attempted to integrate sulfur into carbon-based nanostructures to address the problems of low electronic conductivity and shuttle effect. [8][9][10][11][12] The specific capacity of Li-S was increased in the first few cycles because of the improved conductivity obtained by integrating sulfur into the carbon nanostructure. However, the nonpolar surface of carbons was not successful in retaining the dissolution of polar LiPs upon long cycling time.…”

Lithiated VO2(M)@Carbon Fibers Hybrid Host for Improving the Cycling Stability of Sulfur Cathode in Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries†

“…Although these carbon material and polymer matrixs could physically confine related sulfur species and enhance the structural stability, it is not beneficial to the rapid conversion of sulfur and the capacity decay still occur due to the poor interaction between the non‐polar carbon or polymer hosts and the polar LiPSs. [ 22 ] Subsequently, it is confirmed that some polar compounds have the ability of entrapping polysulfides by forming a variety of chemical bonds. Many emerging materials including MnO 2 , [ 23 ] TiO 2 , [ 24,25 ] Co 3 S 4 , [ 26 ] MXene, [ 27 ] CoS 2 , [ 28 ] VO 2 , [ 29,30 ] VN, [ 29 ] BaTiO 3 , [ 31 ] RuO 2 , [ 32 ] Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3 , [ 33 ] and other metal compounds could alleviate the shuttle effect by moderate chemical interaction and promote the redox kinetic process due to their better electrocatalytic activity.…”

Density-Adjustable Bio-Based Polysulfide Composite Prepared by Inverse Vulcanization and Bio-Based Fillers

“…The reaction between sulfur and unsaturated compound is known as “inverse vulcanization” [ 5 ]. Polysulfides usually exhibit excellent properties preferring them suitable for direct use or as intermediates for further functionalization for various applications [ 15 , 16 ] such as solar cell [ 17 ], hydrogen fuel cell [ 18 ], lithium-ion batteries [ 11 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ], high refractive index and IR transmitting optical devices [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], sulfur-doped carbon materials [ 31 ], heavy metal remediation [ 14 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], rubber [ 10 ], fertilizer [ 36 , 37 ], and other advanced materials [ 38 , 39 , 40 ].…”