Dual-cathodes lithium-sulfur batteries

Abstract

Increasing the sulfur loading and widening the operating temperature range are necessary to promote the application of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). Herein, a dual-cathodes (DC) LSB is constructed by directly coating the cathode slurry on carbonized cotton cloth as the current collector, and inserting it between the conventional cathode and the separator as the second cathode. The DC configuration delivers stable and enhanced electrochemical performance for high-loading LSBs, exhibiting an initial areal capacity of 8.9 mAh cm-2 at a sulfur loading of 10 mg cm-2. In addition to being effective at room temperature, the DC configuration also contributes to the operation of LSBs over a wide temperature range (0–50 oC). Moreover, the idea of dual-cathodes configuration is also valid for other materials and feasible for combining other improvement strategies. The DC configuration is expected to meet the demand for high sulfur loading and low electrolyte-to-sulfur ratio for future applications, thus driving the practical development of LSBs.