Issue 20, 2016

Designing high-energy lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

Due to their high energy density and low material cost, lithium–sulfur batteries represent a promising energy storage system for a multitude of emerging applications, ranging from stationary grid storage to mobile electric vehicles. This review aims to summarize major developments in the field of lithium–sulfur batteries, starting from an overview of their electrochemistry, technical challenges and potential solutions, along with some theoretical calculation results to advance our understanding of the material interactions involved. Next, we examine the most extensively-used design strategy: encapsulation of sulfur cathodes in carbon host materials. Other emerging host materials, such as polymeric and inorganic materials, are discussed as well. This is followed by a survey of novel battery configurations, including the use of lithium sulfide cathodes and lithium polysulfide catholytes, as well as recent burgeoning efforts in the modification of separators and protection of lithium metal anodes. Finally, we conclude with an outlook section to offer some insight on the future directions and prospects of lithium–sulfur batteries.

Graphical abstract: Designing high-energy lithium–sulfur batteries

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
19 May 2015
First published
27 Jul 2016

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2016,45, 5605-5634

Designing high-energy lithium–sulfur batteries

Z. W. Seh, Y. Sun, Q. Zhang and Y. Cui, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2016, 45, 5605 DOI: 10.1039/C5CS00410A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements