Rational Design of Nanostructured Functional Interlayer/Separator for Advanced Li-S Batteries

The lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is considered as a promising future energy storage device owing to its high theoretical energy density, low cost of the raw active material (sulfur), and its environmental friendliness. On the other hand, there are still challenging issues for the practical applications of Li-S batteries, including low sulfur utilization, poor cyclability, and rate capability. Although considerable efforts are made to overcome the current obstacles in Li-S batteries, one is still far from meeting the requirements for the commercialization of Li-S batteries. This review outlines the recent progress in Li-S batteries based on novel configurations, such as incorporating functional interlayers/separators beyond the approach for preparing novel cathodes, and discusses the role of the configuration in Li-S batteries. The functions of the newly introduced functional interlayer/separator are highlighted to address the problems of Li-S batteries. From classification of the functions, the perspectives and outlook are presented to rationally design a novel functional interlayer/separator for high-performance Li-S batteries.