Inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur with 1,4-diphenylbutadiyne for cathode materials in Li-S batteries

High sulfur content copolymers were prepared via inverse vulcanization of sulfur with 1,4-diphenylbutadiyne (DiPhDY) for use as the active cathode material in lithium-sulfur batteries. These sulfur-rich polymers exhibited excellent capacity retention (800 mA h g(-1) at 300 cycles) and extended battery lifetimes of over 850 cycles at C/5 rate.