The demands for high-energy density and low cost advanced batteries, which can replace currently used lithium-ion batteries, are increasing for their possible applications to electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are one of the most attractive candidates for next-generation batteries due to high theoretical capacity of sulfur of 1672 mAhg^-1 and earth-abundance and low cost of sulfur. However, the commercialization of Li-S batteries is being hindered by several issues such as the insulating nature and structural instability of sulfur, polysulfides shuttle and electrode-electrolyte interfacial instability, and as a result, limited cycle life and performance. Recently, a new class of sulfur copolymer materials is appealing as cathode active materials for Li-S batteries, which can exhibit improved performance compared to elemental sulfur.^1-2There is however little report on a basic understanding of electrochemical characteristics of sulfur copolymer cathode materials. In this presentation, we discuss the material’s electrochemical characteristics and the critical factors affecting cycling performance of lithium cells.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported under the framework of international cooperation program managed by National Research Foundation of Korea (2015K2A5A3000068) and German Academic Exchange Service (57141898).

References

1. W. J. Chung et al., Nat. Chem., 5, 518 (2013).

2. H. Kim, J. Lee, H. Ahn, O. Kim and M. J. Park, Nat Commun., 4, 2985 (2013).

3. D. T. Nguyen, A. Hoefling, Y. J. Lee, P. Theato, S.-W. Song, The 229^th Meeting of Electrochemical Society, Abstract #284, San Diego, May 31 (2016).