A Perspective toward Practical Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have long been expected to be a promising high-energy-density secondary battery system since their first prototype in the 1960s. During the past decade, great progress has been achieved in promoting the performances of Li-S batteries by addressing the challenges at the laboratory-level model systems. With growing attention paid to the application of Li-S batteries, new challenges at practical cell scales emerge as the bottleneck. In this Outlook, the key parameters for practical Li-S batteries to achieve practical high energy density are emphasized regarding high-sulfur-loading cathodes, lean electrolytes, and limited excess anodes. Subsequently, the key scientific problems are…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 21825001, 21776019, U1801257
• MO
  Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China

  Awards: 2016YFA0200102, 2016YFA0202500