Novel Designs for Next Generation High Energy Density Lithium Batteries

Secondary (rechargeable) batteries are a staple of modern technology, with usage in energy storage, electric vehicles, and support of electronic devices throughout every industry. To date, lithium ion batteries (LIB) represent the most common and highest performing rechargeable battery technology. However, this technology has matured with little room for growth while the requirements for next generation EV’s and high volume energy storage demand significant performance increases. This work proposes development of the lithium-sulfur battery (LSB) concept as a disruptive leap forward in battery technology. LSB’s offer roughly 10X improvement in theoretical energy density compared to state of the art LIBs, however, adoption has been plagued by three primary issues: polysulfide ‘shuttle’ effects, poor ionic/electronic conductivity in the cathode, and large volumetric changes during charge/discharge of the cathode. Novel anode, cathode, and electrolyte designs are proposed to address these problems. The proposed designs will utilize fundamental physico-chemical relationships to guide development of conductive hierarchical nanostructured porous cathodes and unique catalytic and protective materials to mitigate shuttle and provide capacity retention. By addressing the primary challenges facing this technology, the proposed work will pave the way to achieving the order of magnitude increase in energy density theoretically offered by LSBs.