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Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Research Progress of Key Materials

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A special issue of Batteries (ISSN 2313-0105). This special issue belongs to the section "Battery Materials and Interfaces: Anode, Cathode, Separators and Electrolytes or Others".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 February 2023) | Viewed by 4890

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mingtao Li

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Guest Editor

School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
Interests: power lithium-ion battery materials, including: inorganic nanomaterials, polymer materials, ionic liquids, etc.; nano anode catalysts for urea fuel cells; ionic liquid heat storage materials

Prof. Dr. Weibo Hua

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Guest Editor

School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
Interests: in situ characterization techniques; inorganic synthesis; phase transition; crystal growth; Li/Na/K-ion batteries; solid-state reaction
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on Lithium-Sulfur Batteries is focused on the research progress of key materials. Aiming at the severe shuttle effect, the continuous consumption of electrolyte and the growth of lithium dendrites, how can we perform to substantially improve the practicability of lithium-sulfur batteries?

In terms of the main components of lithium-sulfur batteries, great enhancements of electrochemical performances have been made through electrocatalysis by polar substrates or solid-phase conversion by short-chain sulfur in cathodes, functional modification on separators, non-ether-based or solid-state electrolytes, as well as surface engineering on lithium anodes. Can these strategies be rationally designed and coupled to efficiently increase the energy density and lifespan for application?

This Special Issue welcomes novel research on key materials to promote the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries, and provides valuable guidance for their large-scale commercialization.

Prof. Dr. Mingtao Li
Prof. Dr. Weibo Hua
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Batteries is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

lithium-sulfur batteries
cathode
electrolyte
polysulfide
lithium anode
dendrite
functional coating

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 3656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rational Design of a Cost-Effective Biomass Carbon Framework for High-Performance Lithium Sulfur Batteries

by Zhongchao Bai, Kai Fan, Meiqing Guo, Mingyue Wang, Ting Yang and Nana Wang

Batteries 2023, 9(12), 594; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9120594 - 15 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1818

Abstract

Lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries are the most attractive candidates for next-generation large-scale energy storage because of their high theoretical energy density and the affordability of sulfur. However, most of the reported research primarily concentrates on low sulfur loading (below 2 mg_s cm⁻²) cathodes using binders and traditional collectors, thus undermining the expected energy density. Herein, a N, O co-doped carbon nanotube (N, O-CNT) decorated wood framework (WF), denoted as WF-CNT, was designed as a free-standing sulfur host, achieving high sulfur loading of 10 mg_s cm⁻². This unique cathode featured low tortuosity microchannels and a conductive framework, reducing the diffusion paths for both ions and electrons and accommodating the volume changes associated with sulfur. Moreover, the internal CNT forests effectively captured soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and catalyze their redox kinetic. Consequently, the S@WF-CNT-800 sample exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 1438.2 mAh g⁻¹ at a high current density of 0.5 A g⁻¹. Furthermore, a reversible capacity of 404.5 mAh g⁻¹ was obtained after 500 cycles with sulfur loading of 5 mg_s cm⁻² at 0.5 A g⁻¹. This work may support the development of high sulfur loading cathodes utilizing cost-effective and sustainable biomass materials for Li-S batteries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Research Progress of Key Materials)

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16 pages, 1649 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Glyoxal-Based Electrolytes for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

by Sebastian Kirchhoff, Christian Leibing, Paul Härtel, Thomas Abendroth, Susanne Dörfler, Holger Althues, Stefan Kaskel and Andrea Balducci

Batteries 2023, 9(4), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9040210 - 31 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1716

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are among the most promising next generation battery technologies. First prototype cells show higher specific energies than conventional Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and the active material is cost-effective and ubiquitously abundant. However, Li-S batteries still suffer from several limitations, mainly the cycle life, inflation of cells, and also the lack of a component production value chain. As this battery system is based on a complex conversion mechanism, the electrolyte plays a key role, not only for specific energy, but also for rate capability, cycle stability and costs. Herein, we report on electrolytes based on glyoxylic-acetal based solvents, Tetraethoxyglyoxal (TEG) and Tetramethoxyglyoxal (TMG). These solvents have been examined before for supercapacitors and LIBs, but never for LSBs, although they exhibit some beneficial properties, and the production value chain has already been well established as they are precursors for several chemicals. A specially adapted electrolyte composition is established by adjusting solvent ratio and LiTFSI concentration in a TXG:DOL solvent blend. The obtained electrolytes show long cycle life as well as high coulombic efficiencies without the use of LiNO₃, a component leading normally to cell inflation and safety issues. In addition, a successful evaluation in a multilayer Li-S-pouch cell was performed. The electrolytes were thoroughly characterized, and their sulfur conversion mechanism is discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Research Progress of Key Materials)

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Review

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57 pages, 19335 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceReview

Progress and Prospect of Practical Lithium-Sulfur Batteries Based on Solid-Phase Conversion

by Yikun Yi, Feng Hai, Jingyu Guo, Xiaolu Tian, Shentuo Zheng, Zhendi Wu, Tao Wang and Mingtao Li

Batteries 2023, 9(1), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9010027 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3171

Abstract

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries hold great promise in the field of power and energy storage due to their high theoretical capacity and energy density. However, the “shuttle effect” that originates from the dissolution of intermediate lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) during the charging and discharging process is prone to causing continuous irreversible capacity loss, which restricts the practical development. Beyond the traditional Li–S batteries based on the dissolution-diffusion mechanism, novel Li–S batteries based on solid-phase conversion exhibit superior cycling stability owing to the absolute prevention of polysulfides shuttling. Radically eliminating the formation of polysulfides in cathodes or cutting off their diffusion in electrolytes are the two main ways to achieve solid-phase conversion. Generally, direct transformation of sulfur to final Li₂S without polysulfides participation tends to occur in short-chain sulfur polymers or special molecular forms of sulfur substances, while specific regulations of liquid electrolytes with solvating structure or solid-state electrolytes can effectively suppressing the polysulfides dissolution. In this review, we systematically organized and summarized the structures and approaches to achieve solid-phase conversion, introduce their preparation methods, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and analyze the factors and effects of different structures on battery performances. Finally, the problems demanding a prompt solution for the practical development of solid-phase conversion-based Li–S batteries, as well as their future development direction, are suggested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Research Progress of Key Materials)

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14 pages, 3958 KiB

Open AccessReview

Biomass Carbon Materials Contribute Better Alkali-Metal–Selenium Batteries: A Mini-Review

by Yixun Du, Shuang Ma, Jinhang Dai, Juan Lin, Xia Zhou, Tiezhu Chen and Xingxing Gu

Batteries 2022, 8(9), 123; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries8090123 - 09 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2060

Abstract

Owing to the sustainability, environmental friendliness, and structural diversity of biomass-derived materials, extensive efforts have been devoted to using them in high-energy rechargeable batteries. Alkali-metal–selenium batteries, one of the high-energy rechargeable batteries with a reasonable cost compared to up-to-date lithium-ion batteries, have also attracted significant attention. Therefore, a timely and comprehensive review of the biomass carbon structures/components to the mechanisms for enhancing alkali-metal–selenium batteries has been systematically introduced. In the end, advantages, challenges, and outlooks are pointed out for the future development of biomass-derived carbon materials in alkali-metal–selenium batteries. This review could help researchers think about using biomass carbon materials to improve battery performance and what other problems should be solved, thereby promoting the application of biomass materials in battery design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Research Progress of Key Materials)

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