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Trapping of Polysulfides with Sulfur‐Rich Poly Ionic Liquid Cathode Materials for Ultralong‐Life Lithium–Sulfur Batteries
Author(s) -
Liu Xu,
Lu Yu,
Zeng Qinghui,
Chen Pingping,
Li Zhenfeng,
Wen Xin,
Wen Wen,
Li Zengxi,
Zhang Liaoyun
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201903122
Subject(s) - cathode , sulfur , polysulfide , ionic liquid , polymer , vulcanization , chemistry , chemical engineering , ionic bonding , lithium (medication) , materials science , inorganic chemistry , ion , catalysis , organic chemistry , electrode , natural rubber , electrolyte , medicine , engineering , endocrinology
Sulfur‐rich polymers synthesized by inverse vulcanization are promising cathodes for Li–S batteries and can suppress the shuttle effect to improve the cycling properties of Li–S batteries. However, developing a sulfur‐rich copolymer with new chemical functionality to enhance performance of Li–S batteries remains a huge challenge. In this report, a sulfur‐rich polymer cathode containing ionic liquid segments named poly(sulfur‐ co ‐1‐vinyl‐3‐allylimidazolium bromide) [poly(S‐ co ‐DVIMBr)] was obtained by the inverse vulcanization of S 8 with DVIMBr and used as cathode for the first time. This sulfur‐rich poly ionic liquid cathode showed effective suppression of the shuttle effect through joint effects of the stable chemical bonding of C−S and strong cation absorption for lithium polysulfides, which was confirmed by DFT calculations. In particular, the Li–S cell with poly(S‐ co ‐DVIMBr) cathode delivered high capacity retention of 90.22 % even over 900 cycles. Developing sulfur‐rich poly ionic liquids may provide a new strategy of introducing the functional groups with cations into the cathode materials for suppressing the shuttle effect and improving the performance of Li–S batteries.