Development of carbon materials for sulfur cathodes in inorganic-based solid-state lithium–sulfur batteries

Abstract

Inorganic-based solid-state lithium–sulfur batteries (SSLSBs) with high energy density and high safety have attracted wide attention as they are one of the most promising energy storage devices to meet future market requirements. However, the development of SSLSBs faces various challenges due to the unreasonable structural design in sulfur cathodes. Carbon is one of the indispensable components in sulfur cathodes. The rational design of carbon materials becomes an important strategy to address the challenges in sulfur cathodes. This review summarizes recent literature about the design and application of carbon materials for sulfur cathodes in inorganic-based SSLSBs. It starts with the introduction of different carbon materials from zero-dimensional to three-dimensional carbon materials. Particularly, this review paper highlights the structural design of carbon materials and the cathode fabrication methods, toward improving the conductivity of cathodes, buffering volume changes in cathodes, reducing interfacial resistance among cathode components, and increasing the mass loading of active materials. Finally, the existing challenges and promising solutions for carbon materials in the cathodes are discussed and proposed.