Future potential for lithium-sulfur batteries

Abstract

With the increased adoption of electric vehicles globally and recent developments in international politics, the prices of cathode raw materials for lithium-ion batteries, such as nickel and cobalt, have continued to rise. These high raw material prices threaten to derail or delay the implementation of cleaner energy strategies. In view of this, research and development are actively being conducted toward the commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries, which do not use rare metals as the cathode active material and have high energy density; in addition, lithium and sulfur are naturally abundant. This review introduces the reaction principle of lithium-sulfur batteries to the latest research and development trends. The dissolution of intermediate polysulfides into the electrolyte, which is a fatal drawback of lithium-sulfur batteries, has been solved using various methods, such as compositing with carbon materials, polymer coating, and gel/polymer electrolytes. Therefore, all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries that offer improved safety and energy density can be expected to be futuristic batteries.