Ning, J.; Yu, H.; Mei, S.; Schütze, Y.; Risse, S.; Kardjilov, N.; Hilger, A.; Manke, I.; Bande, A.; Ruiz, V.G.; Dzubiella, J.; Meng, H.; Lu, Y.: Constructing Binder- and Carbon Additive-Free Organosulfur Cathodes Based on Conducting Thiol-Polymers through Electropolymerization for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. ChemSusChem 15 (2022), p. e202200434/1-9
10.1002/cssc.202200434
Open Access Version
Abstract:
Herein, the concept of constructing binder- and carbon additive-free organosulfur cathode was proved based on thiol-containing conducting polymer poly(4-(thiophene-3-yl) benzenethiol) (PTBT). The PTBT featured the polythiophene-structure main chain as a highly conducting framework and the benzenethiol side chain to copolymerize with sulfur and form a crosslinked organosulfur polymer (namely S/PTBT). Meanwhile, it could be in-situ deposited on the current collector by electro-polymerization, making it a binder-free and free-standing cathode for Li-S batteries. The S/PTBT cathode exhibited a reversible capacity of around 870 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and improved cycling performance compared to the physically mixed cathode (namely S&PTBT). This multifunction cathode eliminated the influence of the additives (carbon/binder), making it suitable to be applied as a model electrode for operando analysis. Operando X-ray imaging revealed the remarkable effect in the suppression of polysulfides shuttle via introducing covalent bonds, paving the way for the study of the intrinsic mechanisms in Li-S batteries.