Dong Yangyang, Li Tingting, Cai Dong, Yang Shuo, Zhou Xuemei, Nie Huagui, Yang Zhi
Key Laboratory of Carbon Materials of Zhejiang Province, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China.
College of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China.
Front Chem. 2021 Jul 15;9:703354. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2021.703354. eCollection 2021.
Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries featured by ultra-high energy density and cost-efficiency are considered the most promising candidate for the next-generation energy storage system. However, their pragmatic applications confront several non-negligible drawbacks that mainly originate from the reaction and transformation of sulfur intermediates. Grasping and catalyzing these sulfur species motivated the research topics in this field. In this regard, carbon dopants with metal/metal-free atoms together with transition-metal complex, as traditional lithium polysulfide (LiPS) propellers, exhibited significant electrochemical performance promotions. Nevertheless, only the surface atoms of these host-accelerators can possibly be used as active sites. In sharp contrast, organic materials with a tunable structure and composition can be dispersed as individual molecules on the surface of substrates that may be more efficient electrocatalysts. The well-defined molecular structures also contribute to elucidate the involved surface-binding mechanisms. Inspired by these perceptions, organic electrocatalysts have achieved a great progress in recent decades. This review focuses on the organic electrocatalysts used in each part of Li-S batteries and discusses the structure-activity relationship between the introduced organic molecules and LiPSs. Ultimately, the future developments and prospects of organic electrocatalysts in Li-S batteries are also discussed.
锂硫（Li-S）电池具有超高能量密度和成本效益，被认为是下一代储能系统最有前途的候选者。然而，它们的实际应用面临一些不可忽视的缺点，这些缺点主要源于硫中间体的反应和转化。掌握和催化这些硫物种推动了该领域的研究课题。在这方面，具有金属/无金属原子的碳掺杂剂与过渡金属配合物作为传统的多硫化锂（LiPS）推进剂，表现出显著的电化学性能提升。然而，这些主体促进剂只有表面原子可能用作活性位点。与之形成鲜明对比的是，具有可调结构和组成的有机材料可以作为单个分子分散在可能是更高效电催化剂的基底表面。明确的分子结构也有助于阐明所涉及的表面结合机制。受这些观点的启发，有机电催化剂在近几十年取得了很大进展。本文综述聚焦于锂硫电池各部分所使用的有机电催化剂，并讨论引入的有机分子与多硫化锂之间的结构-活性关系。最后，还讨论了有机电催化剂在锂硫电池中的未来发展和前景。
