Current Status and Prospect of Cathode Materials for Lithium Sulfur Batteries

Authors

Lan ZHOU, Department of Chemistry, Institute of New Energy, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China;
Ai-shui YU, Department of Chemistry, Institute of New Energy, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China;Follow

Corresponding Author

Ai-shui YU(asyu@fudan.edu.cn)

Abstract

Elemental sulfur has been extensively investigated as a promising candidate of cathode material for next generation lithium secondary batteries. However, some troublesome issues, such as the low electric conductivity of sulfur (5×10^-30 S·cm^-1) and the high solubility of lithium polysulfide intermediates in organic electrolytes, resulting in a low utilization of active material and a redox shuttling of dissolved polysulfide ions between the sulfur cathode and the lithium anode, which eventually leads to a deposition of insoluble and insulating Li₂S₂/Li₂S on the electrode surface and a fast reduction in the specific capacity. Notably, recent results indicate that carbon materials have been regarded as the ideal matrix for sulfur to improve the discharge capacity and cycling performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. In this review, recent development of carbon materials for lithium sulfur batteries is summarized and the prospect on sulfur/carbon composites cathode is discussed.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

lithium-sulfur batteries, sulfur, carbon materials, carbon/sulfur composites, cathode

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.141050

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Date

2015-06-28

Online Available Date

2015-06-28

Revised Date

2015-03-05

Received Date

2014-11-19

Recommended Citation

Lan ZHOU, Ai-shui YU. Current Status and Prospect of Cathode Materials for Lithium Sulfur Batteries[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2015 , 21(3): 211-220.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.141050
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol21/iss3/3