Abstract
There is great interest in using sulfur as active component in rechargeable batteries thanks to its low cost and high specific charge (1672 mAh/g). The electrochemistry of sulfur, however, is complex and cell concepts are required, which differ from conventional designs. This review summarizes different strategies for utilizing sulfur in rechargeable batteries among membrane concepts, polysulfide concepts, all-solid-state concepts as well as high-temperature systems. Among the more popular lithium–sulfur and sodium–sulfur batteries, we also comment on recent results on potassium–sulfur and magnesium–sulfur batteries. Moreover, specific properties related to the type of light metal are discussed.
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Notes
It is worth to note that anion redox effects in high capacity positive electrode materials has recently become an active research field [16]. Anyway, most of the charge storage is due to the change in oxidation states of the transition metals.
Similar reactions can be formulated for oxygen (metal–oxygen batteries). This type of cells ideally work with a gas diffusion electrode as cathode and ideally utilize atmospheric oxygen. They are therefore fundamentally different from classical rechargeable batteries that are closed systems. More information can be found in Refs. 17 and 18
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The authors acknowledge support from the State of Thuringia (Germany) within the ProExzellenz program.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection “Electrochemical Energy Storage”; edited by Rüdiger A. Eichel.
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Medenbach, L., Adelhelm, P. Cell Concepts of Metal–Sulfur Batteries (Metal = Li, Na, K, Mg): Strategies for Using Sulfur in Energy Storage Applications. Top Curr Chem (Z) 375, 81 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-017-0168-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-017-0168-x