A functional interlayer as a polysulfides blocking layer for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

A new Li-S battery with a polyaniline-graphene oxide (PANI-GO) membrane sandwiched between a sulfur cathode and a separator shows high cycling stability and enhanced rate performance. The initial specific capacity is 1261 mA h g(-1) at 0.5C and the capacity retention is 73.0% after 150 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the new cell configuration. Specifically, the PANI-GO membrane can not only effectively mitigate the diffusion of lithium polysulfides to the negative electrode by a chemical interaction between the imine group (-N=) of the quinoid ring and polysulfides, but also improve sulfur utilization due to its conductive networks.