A novel permselective organo-polysulfides/PVDF gel polymer electrolyte enables stable lithium anode for lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)battery can satisfy the need of the future power battery market because of its high energy density,but the hidden dangers caused by lithium anode have seriously hindered their commercialization.Herein,an innovative gel polymer electrolyte(GPE)composed of polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)and organo-polysulfide polymer(PSPEG)is proposed,which could be used in semisolid-state Li-S batteries for protection of Li anodes.Particularly,organo-polysulfide polymer could chemically/electrochemically generate both inorganic and organic components simultaneously in-situ once contacting fresh Li metal surface and/or during discharging processes.And these inorganic/organic components could participate in the formation of the SEI layer and finally constitute a stable and flexible hybrid SEI layer on the surface of Li metal anode.Moreover,the organic components were permselective to lithium ions against anions.Therefore,PVDF/PSPEG GPE ensures the ideal chemical and electrochemical properties for Li-S batteries.Our work demonstrates an effective solution to solve the problems about Li anodes and contributes to the development of the safe Li metal batteries.

P(VDF-HFP)-poly(sulfur-1,3-diisopropenylbenzene) functional polymer electrolyte for lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium–sulfur(Li–S)battery as a high-energy density electrochemical energy storage system has attracted many researchers’attention.However,the shuttle effect of Li–S batteries and the challenges associated with lithium metal anode caused poor cycle performance.In this work,the organosulfide poly(sulfur-1,3-diisopropenylbenzene)(PSD)was prepared as cathode material and additive of P(VDFHFP)polymer electrolyte(P(VDF-HFP)).It was verified that P(VDF-HFP)polymer electrolyte with 10%PSD(P(VDF-HFP)-10%PSD)showed a higher ionic conductivities than that of liquid electrolyte up to2.27×10-3 S cm-1 at room temperature.The quasi-solid-state Li-S batteries fabricated with organosulfide cathode material PSD and P(VDF-HFP)based functional polymer electrolyte delivered good cycling stability(780 m Ah g-1 after 200 th cycle at 0.1 C)and rate performance(613 m Ah g-1 at 1 C).The good cycling performance could be attributed to the synergistic effect of components,including the interaction between polysulfides and polymer main chain in the organosulfide cathode,the sustained organic/inorganic hybrid stable SEI layer formed by polymer electrolyte additive PSD,the improved cathode/electrolyte interface and the good affinity between P(VDF-HFP)based functional polymer electrolyte and Li metal surface.This strategy herein may provide a new route to fabricate high-performance Li–S batteries through the organosulfide cathode and functional polymer electrolyte.

Te0.045S0.955PAN composite with high average discharge voltage for Li–S battery

As a sulfur-containing cathode material,sulfide polyacrylonitrile(SPAN)is expected to be used for longlife lithium-sulfur battery because there is no shuttle effect occurred in its charge process.However,its specific capacity and discharge potential need to be further improved to satisfy the urgent demands for high-performance batteries.In this paper,Te0.045S0.955PAN composite was synthesized by co-heating TexS1-x and PAN,and the superior electrochemical performance to that of SPAN was obtained because of doping Te with high conductivity.The as-prepared Te0.045S0.955PAN composite possessed the specific capacity of 675 mAh g^-1 after 100 cycles at the current density of 0.1 A g^-1 with high capacity retention of96.6%compared to the second cycle.Especially,during cycling,Te0.045S0.955PAN showed average discharge voltages of 1.88-1.91 V,which were higher than 1.85-1.88 V for SPAN at the same current density.Thus doping Te provides a new strategy for increasing the energy density of SPAN.

P4S10 modified lithium anode for enhanced performance of lithium–sulfur batteries

To address the corrosion and dendrite issues of lithium metal anodes, a protective layer was ex-situ constructed by P4S10 modification. It was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectra that the main constituents of the protective layer were P4S10, Li3PS4 and other LixPySztype derivatives. The protective layer was proved to be effective to stabilize the interphase of lithium metal. With the modified Li anodes, symmetric cells could deliver stable Li plating/stripping for 16000 h;Li–S batteries exhibited a specific capacity of 520 m A h g-1 after 200 cycles at 1000 m A g-1 with average Coulombic efficiency of 97.9%. Therefore, introducing LixPySzbased layer to protect Li anode provides a new strategy for the improvement of Li metal batteries.

Recent progress of fiber-shaped batteries towards wearable application

Rapid development of portable or wearable devices, which is inspired by requirements of instant messaging,health monitoring and handling official business, urgently demands more tiny, flexible and light power sources. Fibershaped batteries explored in recent years become a prospective candidate to satisfy these demands. With 1D architecture,the fiber-shaped batteries could be adapted to various deformations and integrated into soft textile and other devices.Numerous researches have been reported and achieved huge promotion. To give an overview of fiber-shaped batteries,we summarized the development of fiber-shaped batteries in this review, and discussed the structure and materials in fiber-shaped batteries. The flexibility of batteries with the potential application of the batteries was also exhibited and showed the future perspective. Finally, challenges in this field were discussed, hoping to reveal research direction towards further development of fiber-shaped batteries.