Journal of Energy Chemistry ›› 2023, Vol. 86 ›› Issue (11): 118-134.DOI: 10.1016/j.jechem.2023.07.003

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Vanadium-based compounds and heterostructures as functional sulfur catalysts for lithium-sulfur battery cathodes

Xinji Donga, Qiao Denga, Fengxing Lianga, Pei Kang Shena, Jinliang Zhua,b,*, Cheng Tangb,*   

  1. aSchool of Resources, Environment and Materials, State Key Laboratory of Featured Metal Materials and Life-cycle Safety for Composite Structures, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, Guangxi, China;
    bBeijing Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
  • Received:2023-05-27 Revised:2023-06-30 Accepted:2023-07-02 Online:2023-11-15 Published:2023-11-07
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: jlzhu85@163.com (J. Zhu), cheng-net0@tsinghua.edu.cn (C. Tang).
  • About author:Xinji Dong received his Master's degree at Guangxi University under the supervision of Associate Professor Jinliang Zhu. He is working on his doctorate at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research focuses on cathode scaffold design for Li-S batteries.
    Qiao Deng received her Master's degree from the School of Resources, Environment and Materials, Guangxi University, majoring in materials and chemical engineering. Her research interests focus on cathode materials for Li-S batteries.
    Fengxing Liang is studying for the Master's degree at Guangxi University under the supervision of Associate Professor Jinliang Zhu. His research work focuses on the preparation of cathode materials for Li-S batteries and energy storage technologies.
    Pei Kang Shen is a Professor and Director at the Collaborative Innovation Center of Sustainable Energy Materials in Guangxi University, China. Prof. Shen received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry at Essex University in 1992. He is the author of over 460 publications in qualified journals like Chem. Rev., Chem. Soc. Rev., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Adv. Mater., 9 specialized books, 80 patents, and more than 150 meeting presentations. His research interests include fuel cells and batteries, electrochemistry of nanomaterials and nanocomposite functional materials for different applications and electrochemical engineering.
    Jinliang Zhu is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Resources, Environment and Materials, Guangxi University. He received his Ph.D. degree from Sun Yat-sen University in 2014. His current research focuses on Li-S batteries and electrocatalysis.
    Cheng Tang received his B.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University in 2013 and 2018, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor at Tsinghua University. His research focuses on developing new chemistry, materials, and devices for high-energy batteries and sustainable electrosynthesis. He was honored with the Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher (2020-2022), MIT TR35 Asia Pacific (2021), and The Chorafas Foundation Award in Chemistry (2019).

Abstract: Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted wide attention for their high theoretical energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the shuttle effect of polysulfides and the insulation of active materials severely restrict the development of Li-S batteries. Constructing conductive sulfur scaffolds with catalytic conversion capability for cathodes is an efficient approach to solving above issues. Vanadium-based compounds and their heterostructures have recently emerged as functional sulfur catalysts supported on conductive scaffolds. These compounds interact with polysulfides via different mechanisms to alleviate the shuttle effect and accelerate the redox kinetics, leading to higher Coulombic efficiency and enhanced sulfur utilization. Reports on vanadium-based nanomaterials in Li-S batteries have been steadily increasing over the past several years. In this review, first, we provide an overview of the synthesis of vanadium-based compounds and heterostructures. Then, we discuss the interactions and constitutive relationships between vanadium-based catalysts and polysulfides formed at sulfur cathodes. We summarize the mechanisms that contribute to the enhancement of electrochemical performance for various types of vanadium-based catalysts, thus providing insights for the rational design of sulfur catalysts. Finally, we offer a perspective on the future directions for the research and development of vanadium-based sulfur catalysts.

Key words: Vanadium-based compound, Vanadium-based heterostructure, Lithium-sulfur battery, Sulfur catalyst, Polysulfide regulation