Review of Metal Nitrides for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Design, Mechanisms, and Prospects

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSB) emerge as the next generation battery technology owing to their high theoretical capacity and energy density. However, sluggish redox reactions coupled with severe volume alterations result in underachievement of the merits. Additionally, the atrocious shuttle effect prompts premature failure, thereby limiting life cycle count. Transition metal nitrides with excellent properties, including good electrical conductivity and catalytic effects, have been investigated as functional materials to address the challenges of LSB. Mainly, transition metal nitrides as well as their composites have been employed as hosts and interlayers to boost reaction kinetics and enhance the cycle life. This review focuses on the fundamental mechanisms of metal nitrides toward the capture and catalysis of polysulfides. The article highlights battery performance attained with key metal nitrides with the inclusion of the synthesis procedures, morphology, and size effects. Further, the possible principles for the design of metal nitrides, along with future directions, are discussed.