Mesoporous Hybrid Electrolyte for Simultaneously Inhibiting Lithium Dendrites and Polysulfide Shuttle in Li-S Batteries

A bifunctional hybrid electrolyte composed of mesoporous silica nanosheets and liquid electrolyte is achieved for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. This hybrid electrolyte possesses abundant mesopores (2.8 nm), thin feature (20 mu m), and high ionic conductivity (1.17 x 10(-1) mS cm(-1)) as well as a low interfacial resistance with electrodes. Such unique features not only enable the efficient inhibition of the growth of lithium dendrites, but also significantly prevents polysulfide shuttling. Consequently, a Li-S battery with this hybrid electrolyte exhibits a relatively high reversible capacity and good capacity retention.