Recent Development of Carbonaceous Materials for Lithium–Sulphur Batteries

Abstract

The effects of climate change are just beginning to be felt, and as such, society must work towards strategies of reducing humanity’s impact on the environment. Due to the fact that energy production is one of the primary contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, it is obvious that more environmentally friendly sources of power are required. Technologies such as solar and wind power are constantly being improved through research; however, as these technologies are often sporadic in their power generation, efforts must be made to establish ways to store this sustainable energy when conditions for generation are not ideal. Battery storage is one possible supplement to these renewable energy technologies; however, as current Li-ion technology is reaching its theoretical capacity, new battery technology must be investigated. Lithium–sulphur (Li–S) batteries are receiving much attention as a potential replacement for Li-ion batteries due to their superior capacity, and also their abundant and environmentally benign active materials. In the spirit of environmental harm minimization, efforts have been made to use sustainable carbonaceous materials for applications as carbon–sulphur (C–S) composite cathodes, carbon interlayers, and carbon-modified separators. This work reports on the various applications of carbonaceous materials applied to Li–S batteries, and provides perspectives for the future development of Li–S batteries with the aim of preparing a high energy density, environmentally friendly, and sustainable sulphur-based cathode with long cycle life.

Keywords

• lithium–sulphur (Li–S) batteries
• carbon–sulphur (C–S) composites
• carbon interlayers
• carbon modified separators
• high energy density