A method of forming a sulfur-based cathode material includes: 1) providing a sulfur-based nanostructure; 2) coating the nanostructure with an encapsulating material to form a shell surrounding the nanostructure; and 3) removing a portion of the nanostructure through the shell to form a void within the shell, with a remaining portion of the nanostructure disposed within the shell.

The present disclosure relates to a positive electrode active material, a preparation method thereof, and a lithium-sulfur battery including the same, more particularly to a positive electrode active material including a particulate structure of a core-shell structure which comprises a core part and a shell part covering the whole surface or a part of the surface of the core part, wherein the core part comprises a sulfur compound, and the shell part comprises a polythiophene acetic acid-polyethylene glycol graft copolymer. The positive electrode active material of the present disclosure has excellent electrochemical reactivity and adsorbs lithium polysulfide to improve capacity and lifetime characteristics of the lithium-sulfur battery.

A positive electrode active material having a core/shell structure, which includes a sulfur-carbon composite containing thermally expanded-reduced graphene oxide, a carbon material as a core, and carbon nanotubes as a shell. A method for preparing a positive electrode active material having a core/shell structure for a lithium secondary battery, including the steps of thermally expanding graphene oxide by heat treatment at a temperature in a range of 300° C. to 500° C. to prepare a thermally-expanded graphene oxide. Then, reducing the thermally-expanded graphene oxide by heat treatment at a temperature in a range of 700° C. to 1200° C. to prepare a thermally expanded-reduced graphene oxide. Next, mixing the thermally expanded-reduced graphene oxide and sulfur to prepare a sulfur-carbon composite. Last, mixing the sulfur-carbon composite and carbon nanotubes to form carbon nanotubes on a surface of the sulfur-carbon composite.

Disclosed is an electrolyte for a lithium-sulfur battery and a lithium-sulfur battery including the same, more particularly an electrolyte for a lithium-sulfur battery including a lithium salt, a non-aqueous organic solvent, and an additive, wherein the additive includes an alkyl vinyl ether compound. The electrolyte for the lithium-sulfur battery improves the efficiency and stability of the negative electrode, thereby improving the capacity and lifetime characteristics of the lithium-sulfur battery.

Disclosed is a method for producing polymer-encapsulated Li.sub.2S.sub.x (where 1≤x≤2) nanoparticles. The method comprises the step of forming a mixture of a polymer and sulfur. The method further comprises vulcanizing the mixture at a vulcanization temperature attained at a heating rate, in a vulcanization atmosphere, and electrochemically reducing a vulcanized product at a reduction potential. Also disclosed is a method for producing a battery component, the component comprising a cathode and a separator.

A nanocomposite includes one or more graphene-based materials (GMs), a nitrogen-containing polymer (an N-polymer), and elemental sulfur (S). The nanocomposite is suitable for use as a stable, high capacity electrode for rechargeable batteries such as lithium-sulfur (Li—S) batteries. Example methods of fabricating a nanocomposite include the addition of an N-polymer to a dispersion (e.g., an aqueous dispersion) or slurry of GMs mixed with a sulfur sol. The N-polymer can interact strongly with the GMs to form a cross-linked network. In one embodiment, hydrothermal treatment of the aqueous dispersion or slurry is used to melt the sulfur such that it becomes distributed within the network formed by the GMs and the N-polymer. The resulting nanocomposite material can then be processed through the addition of one or more other binders and/or solvents, and formed into a final electrode.

The disclosure relates to a molecular crowding type electrolyte that comprises at least one type of water-miscible/soluble polymer which acts as molecular crowding agent, a salt and a water. The disclosure also relates to a battery comprising the molecular crowding type electrolyte, and a method of using the molecular crowding electrolyte in electrochemical system such as battery that comprises an anode, a cathode and the molecular crowding type electrolyte.

The present invention generally relates to the use of a transition metal sulphide compound in a positive electrode for solid state batteries, to a transition metal sulphide compound, to a device or a material incorporating said compound, such as a composite material, an electrode, an electrochemical energy storage cell or a device such as an all-solid-state battery. It further relates to a method to manufacture and/or to use such a compound, material or device and to a process to manufacture said compound, material and/or device.

A lamellar transition metal sulfide composition having layers of an amorphous transition metal sulfide with cations interspersed between the layers is described. Also described are methods of synthesizing the lamellar transition metal sulfides and the use of the lamellar transition metal sulfides in electrodes, e.g., in metal-ion batteries, metal-ion/sulfur batteries, and capacitors.

A system and method for forming a metallic ion intercalated layered structure can include a housing, an electrolyte disposed in the housing, a counter-electrode disposed in the housing, and a working electrode disposed in the housing. The working electrode comprises a metallic support; and an electrode paste. The electrode paste can include an active material and a binder. The system can be used to form a layered structure having metallic ions from the metallic support intercalated into the layered structure based on cycling the working electrode.