Highly Cyclable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries with
a Dual-Type Sulfur Cathode and a Lithiated Si/SiO<sub><i>x</i></sub> Nanosphere Anode
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Abstract
Lithium–sulfur batteries could
become an excellent alternative to replace the currently used lithium-ion
batteries due to their higher energy density and lower production
cost; however, commercialization of lithium–sulfur batteries
has so far been limited due to the cyclability problems associated
with both the sulfur cathode and the lithium–metal anode. Herein,
we demonstrate a highly reliable lithium–sulfur battery showing
cycle performance comparable to that of lithium-ion batteries; our
design uses a highly reversible dual-type sulfur cathode (solid sulfur
electrode and polysulfide catholyte) and a lithiated Si/SiO<sub><i>x</i></sub> nanosphere anode. Our lithium–sulfur cell
shows superior battery performance in terms of high specific capacity,
excellent charge–discharge efficiency, and remarkable cycle
life, delivering a specific capacity of ∼750 mAh g<sup>–1</sup> over 500 cycles (85% of the initial capacity). These promising behaviors
may arise from a synergistic effect of the enhanced electrochemical
performance of the newly designed anode and the optimized layout of
the cathode