A Perspective toward Practical Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have long been expected to be a promising high-energy-density secondary battery system since their first prototype in the 1960s. During the past decade, great progress has been achieved in promoting the performances of Li-S batteries by addressing the challenges at the laboratory-level model systems. With growing attention paid to the application of Li-S batteries, new challenges at practical cell scales emerge as the bottleneck. In this Outlook, the key parameters for practical Li-S batteries to achieve practical high energy density are emphasized regarding high-sulfur-loading cathodes, lean electrolytes, and limited excess anodes. Subsequently, the key scientific problems are redefined in practical Li-S batteries beyond the previous ones under ideal conditions. Finally, viable strategies are proposed to address the above challenges as future research directions.