Binder-Free Sulfur Host Materials

With the booming advances of various electrical products, the updating of energy storage technologies is essential for meeting the demands of modern society. Lithium-sulfur (Li–S) batteries are considered one of the most promising next-generation electrochemical power sources to replace traditional lithium-ion batteries because of their high energy density and the abundant resource of active sulfur. However, the practical application of Li–S batteries is still hindered by the critical drawback of the notorious polysulfide shuttle effect, which results in severe sulfur loss, short cycle life, and unsatisfactory Coulombic efficiency. The overall device performance of Li–S batteries depends on not only the development of host materials but also the architecture design of electrodes. Among various host architectures, binder-free sulfur-host materials are verified to be one of the feasible structural designs to enhance the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries. The strong mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity endow them with adequate capacity for high sulfur loading and efficient transfer of electrons/mass. In this chapter, the recent progress on binder-free sulfur host materials is focused on carbonous, polar metal compounds and polymer-based binder-free sulfur hosts. In the following, the relevant works about binder-free sulfur electrodes from such three aspects will be discussed and summarized.