Highly crosslinked organosulfur copolymer nanosheets with abundant mesopores as cathode materials for efficient lithium-sulfur batteries

Electrochemical Investigations of Sulfur-Decorated Organic Materials as Cathodes for Alkali Batteries

Alkali metal-sulfur batteries (particularly, lithium/sodium- sulfur (Li/Na-S)) have attracted much attention because of their high energy density, the natural abundance of sulfur, and environmental friendliness. However, Li/Na-S batteries still face big challenges, such as limited cycle life, poor conductivity, large volume changes, and the "shuttle effect" caused by the high solubility of Li/Na-polysulfides. Herein, novel organosulfur-containing materials, i.e., bis(4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)disulfide (BiTEMPS-OH) and 2,4-thiophene/arene copolymer (TAC) are proposed as cathode materials for Li and Na batteries. BiTEMPS-OH shows an initial discharge/charge capacity of 353/192 mAh g-1 and a capacity of 62 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles at 100 mA g-1 in ether-based Li-ion electrolyte. Meanwhile, TAC has an initial discharge/charge capacity of 270/248 mAh g-1 and better cycling performance (106 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles) than BiTEMPS-OH in the same electrolyte. However, the rate capability of TAC is limited by the slow diffusion of Li-ions. Both materials show inferior electrochemical performances in Na battery cells compared to the Li analogs. X-ray powder diffraction reveals that BiTEMPS-OH loses its crystalline structure permanently upon cycling in Li battery cells. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates the cleavage and partially reversible formation of S-S bonds in BiTEMPS-OH and the formation/decomposition of thick solid electrolyte interphase on the electrode surface of TAC.

Ultrathin MgB2 nanosheet-modified polypropylene separator for high-efficiency lithium-sulfur batteries

The separator is an important component in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, the conventional polypropylene (PP) separators have the problem of easy shuttling of lithium polysulfide (LiPSs). Herein, ultrathin magnesium boride (MgB2) nanosheets were prepared by ultrasonic-assisted exfoliation technology, and were suction-filtered onto a separator to serve as a separator modification layer. The introduction of a microporous structure into MgB2 nanosheets after ultrasonic peeling increases the specific surface area and pore volume, with more adsorption sites, which can fully utilize the surface adsorption/catalytic performance of MgB2 for LiPSs and accommodate the volume expansion of lithium sulfide (Li2S). Therefore, MgB2@PP as a separator significantly improves the sulfur utilization and cycle stability in Li-S batteries. When the MgB2@PP separator is used, the reversible specific capacity of the assembled Li-S battery at 0.1 C (current rate) is 1184 mAh/g, and the specific capacity at 2 C is 732 mAh/g. After 500 cycles at 2 C, it remains at 497 mAh/g.

Organosulfur Materials for Rechargeable Batteries: Structure, Mechanism, and Application

Lithium-ion batteries have received significant attention over the last decades due to the wide application of portable electronics and increasing deployment of electric vehicles. In order to further enhance the performance of the batteries and overcome the capacity limitations of inorganic electrode materials, it is imperative to explore new cathode and functional materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. Organosulfur materials containing sulfur-sulfur bonds as a kind of promising organic electrode materials have the advantages of high capacities, abundant resources, tunable structures, and environmental benignity. In addition, organosulfur materials have been widely used in almost every aspect of rechargeable batteries because of their multiple functionalities. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview on the development of organosulfur materials including the synthesis and application as cathode materials, electrolyte additives, electrolytes, binders, active materials in lithium redox flow batteries, and other metal battery systems. We also give an in-depth analysis of structure-property-performance relationship of organosulfur materials, and guidance for the future development of organosulfur materials for next generation rechargeable lithium batteries and beyond.

Inverse Vulcanization of a Natural Monoene with Sulfur as Sustainable Electrochemically Active Materials for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

A novel soluble copolymer poly(S-MVT) was synthesized using a relatively quick one-pot solvent-free method, inverse vulcanization. Both of the two raw materials are sustainable, i.e., elemental sulfur is a by-product of the petroleum industry and 4-Methyl-5-vinylthiazole (MVT) is a natural monoene compound. The microstructure of poly(S-MVT) was characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, XPS spectroscopy, XRD, DSC SEM, and TEM. Test results indicated that the copolymers possess protonated thiazole nitrogen atoms, meso/macroporous structure, and solubility in tetrahydrofuran and chloroform. Moreover, the improved electronic properties of poly(S-MVT) relative to elemental sulfur have also been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The copolymers are utilized successfully as the cathode active material in Li-S batteries. Upon employment, the copolymer with 15% MVT content provided good cycling stability at a capacity of ∼514 mA h g-1 (based on the mass of copolymer) and high Coulombic efficiencies (∼100%) over 100 cycles, as well as great rate performance.

A Novel Synthesizing Strategy of 3D Cose2 Porous Hollow Flowers for High Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Redox kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) conversion and poor electrical conductivity of sulfur during the charge-discharge process greatly inhibit the commercialization of high-performance lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Herein, we synthesized CoSe2 porous hollow flowers (CoSe2-PHF) by etching and further selenizing layered double hydroxide, which combined the high catalytic activity of transition metal compound and high electrical conductivity of selenium. The obtained CoSe2-PHF can efficiently accelerate the catalytic conversion of LiPSs, expedite the electron transport, and improve utilization of active sulfur during the charge-discharge process. As a result, with CoSe2-PHF/S-based cathodes, the Li–S batteries exhibited a reversible specific capacity of 955.8 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and 766.0 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C, along with a relatively small capacity decay rate of 0.070% per cycle within 400 cycles at 1 C. Even at the high rate of 3 C, the specific capacity of 542.9 mAh g−1can be maintained. This work enriches the way to prepare porous composites with high catalytic activity and electrical conductivity as sulfur hosts for high-rate, long-cycle rechargeable Li–S batteries.

Trapping of Polysulfides with Sulfur-Rich Poly Ionic Liquid Cathode Materials for Ultralong-Life Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Sulfur-rich polymers synthesized by inverse vulcanization are promising cathodes for Li-S batteries and can suppress the shuttle effect to improve the cycling properties of Li-S batteries. However, developing a sulfur-rich copolymer with new chemical functionality to enhance performance of Li-S batteries remains a huge challenge. In this report, a sulfur-rich polymer cathode containing ionic liquid segments named poly(sulfur-co-1-vinyl-3-allylimidazolium bromide) [poly(S-co-DVIMBr)] was obtained by the inverse vulcanization of S₈ with DVIMBr and used as cathode for the first time. This sulfur-rich poly ionic liquid cathode showed effective suppression of the shuttle effect through joint effects of the stable chemical bonding of C-S and strong cation absorption for lithium polysulfides, which was confirmed by DFT calculations. In particular, the Li-S cell with poly(S-co-DVIMBr) cathode delivered high capacity retention of 90.22 % even over 900 cycles. Developing sulfur-rich poly ionic liquids may provide a new strategy of introducing the functional groups with cations into the cathode materials for suppressing the shuttle effect and improving the performance of Li-S batteries.

Recent advances in the polymerization of elemental sulphur, inverse vulcanization and methods to obtain functional Chalcogenide Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Polymers (CHIPs)

Recent developments in the polymerization of elemental sulfur, inverse vulcanization and functional Chalcogenide Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Polymers (CHIPs) are reviewed.