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

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.

Keywords

• lithium-sulfur batteries
• shuttle effect
• solid-phase conversion
• short-chain sulfur
• solvating structure
• solid-state electrolytes