Electrospun nanofiber polyacrylonitrile coated separators to suppress the shuttle effect for long‐life lithium–sulfur battery

Polymeric coating on the separator with effective polysulfides diffusion inhibition can provide intimate contact between intermediate polysulfides and conductive layer of separator for high‐energy lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Herein, polyacrylonitrile – poly(1,5 ‐ diaminoanthraquinone) (PAN/PDAAQ) and PAN‐potassium functionalized graphene (PAN/K‐FGF) nanofibers are synthesized via electrospinning method and act as effective separators for Li–S batteries to minimize polysulfides diffusion toward the anode. PAN/K‐FGF coated separator shows capacity retention of 768 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles at 1C. The capacity maintains at 419 mAh g −1 after 500 cycles. PAN/PDAAQ nanofibers are coated on glass fiber separator functions as physical and chemical barrier for polysulfides diffusion. Therefore, the cell with PAN/PDAAQ coating on the separator demonstrates capacity retention of 881 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles at 1C and small capacity decay rate of 0.11% per cycle resulted in 800 cycles at 1C. PAN/PDAAQ could define as an ideal separator material for Li–S batteries. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137 , 48606.