Electrochemical properties of high-loading sulfur–carbon materials prepared by in situ generation method

A high sulfur content sulfur–carbon composite was synthesized via in situ generation method in aqueous solution. When the sulfur loading is up to 90%, the electrode still exhibits good cycling performance with a reversible capacity of about 623 mAh·g⁻¹ after 100 cycles. To further commercialize the Li–S battery, understanding the capacity degradation mechanism is very essential, especially with a high sulfur loading electrode. To achieve this goal, the electrochemical performance of the high sulfur loading electrode was studied, and the structure change of the electrode after cycling was also examined by ex situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and other techniques. The result shows that the Li₂S₂ and Li₂S inhomogeneous precipitation contributes to the majority capacity fading of the high sulfur loading Li–S cells.