Substituting copolymeric poly(alkylenetetrasulfide) for elemental sulfur to diminish the shuttling effect of modified intermediate polysulfides for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries†
Abstract
Poly(alkylenetetrasulfide) can be synthesized to replace sulfur in a chitosan-derived porous carbon (CPC) based composite cathode of lithium–sulfur batteries. Introducing a –CH2– or –CH2CH2– unit in-between the S–S bond of a polysulfide (e.g., Li2S4 → Li–S2–CH2–S–Li or Li–S–CH2CH2–S–Li) diminishes the adverse shuttling effect, proved by experimental tests and first-principle calculations.