Abstract
Electrode passivation limits the reversibility of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Pivoting from the prevailing approaches that focus on electrode active materials and electrolytes, herein, we introduce a class of S electrode binders based on soft acidic-hard basic (SAHB) ionomers. The SAHB binder contains a soft cation (tetraallyl ammonium ion, TA+) paired with a hard counteranion (nitrate, NO3-), allowing matched interactions with Li polysulfides (LiPS) via soft acid-soft base (TA+-Sx2-) and hard base-hard acid (NO3--Li+) pairings. This intermolecular coupling retards LiPS diffusion, promoting three-dimensional granular Li sulfide (Li2S) growth, guided by a high Damköhler number (Da). Consequently, the SAHB binder enables a Li-S cell to achieve a high specific capacity of 1545 mAh gsulfur-1 (corresponding to 92.3% S utilization) and stable capacity retention (71.5% after 300 cycles at a current density of 1 C), outperforming previously reported S electrode binders.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1654-1663 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | ACS Energy Letters |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 11 Apr 2025 |