Engineering Strategies for Suppressing the Shuttle Effect in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Jiayi Li; Li Gao; Fengying Pan; Cheng Gong; Limeng Sun; Hong Gao; Jinqiang Zhang; Yufei Zhao; Guoxiu Wang; Hao Liu

doi:10.1007/s40820-023-01223-1

Engineering Strategies for Suppressing the Shuttle Effect in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Nanomicro Lett. 2023 Nov 10;16(1):12. doi: 10.1007/s40820-023-01223-1.

Authors

Jiayi Li¹, Li Gao¹, Fengying Pan¹, Cheng Gong¹, Limeng Sun¹, Hong Gao², Jinqiang Zhang³, Yufei Zhao⁴, Guoxiu Wang⁵, Hao Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Joint International Laboratory On Environmental and Energy Frontier Materials, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
² Joint International Laboratory On Environmental and Energy Frontier Materials, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. hgao1122@shu.edu.cn.
³ Centre for Clean Energy Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia.
⁴ Joint International Laboratory On Environmental and Energy Frontier Materials, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. yufei-zhao@shu.edu.cn.
⁵ Centre for Clean Energy Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia. Guoxiu.Wang@uts.edu.au.
⁶ Centre for Clean Energy Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia. hao.liu@uts.edu.au.

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are supposed to be one of the most potential next-generation batteries owing to their high theoretical capacity and low cost. Nevertheless, the shuttle effect of firm multi-step two-electron reaction between sulfur and lithium in liquid electrolyte makes the capacity much smaller than the theoretical value. Many methods were proposed for inhibiting the shuttle effect of polysulfide, improving corresponding redox kinetics and enhancing the integral performance of Li-S batteries. Here, we will comprehensively and systematically summarize the strategies for inhibiting the shuttle effect from all components of Li-S batteries. First, the electrochemical principles/mechanism and origin of the shuttle effect are described in detail. Moreover, the efficient strategies, including boosting the sulfur conversion rate of sulfur, confining sulfur or lithium polysulfides (LPS) within cathode host, confining LPS in the shield layer, and preventing LPS from contacting the anode, will be discussed to suppress the shuttle effect. Then, recent advances in inhibition of shuttle effect in cathode, electrolyte, separator, and anode with the aforementioned strategies have been summarized to direct the further design of efficient materials for Li-S batteries. Finally, we present prospects for inhibition of the LPS shuttle and potential development directions in Li-S batteries.

Keywords: Designed strategies; Lithium polysulfides; Li–S battery; Shuttle effect.

Publication types

Review