High-safety lithium-ion sulfur battery with sulfurized polyacrylonitrile cathode, prelithiated SiO_x/C anode and carbonate-based electrolyte

In this work, a lithium-ion sulfur battery has been constructed by employing the sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (S@pPAN) cathode, prelithiated SiO_x/C anode and commercial carbonate-based electrolyte. Compared with the traditional lithium-sulfur battery, the replacement of lithium metal with prelithiated SiO_x/C anode and the use of commercial carbonate-based electrolyte ensure the high safety of the new battery. Meanwhile, the lithium-ion sulfur battery also possesses the advantage of high energy density. It delivers a high reversible capacity of 616 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles with an average working voltage of about 1.6 V, corresponding to a high energy density of 661 W h kg⁻¹, which is more than double that of the commercial lithium-ion batteries. The fabrication of the lithium-ion sulfur battery provides an effective way to solve the safety problems of the available lithium-sulfur batteries. - Highlights: • A novel lithium-ion sulfur battery is built to solve the safety issues of Li-S cell. • The new battery is constructed by using S@pPAN cathode and prelithiated SiO_x/C anode. • The prelithiated SiO_x/C anode and carbonate-based electrolyte ensure its high safety. • The new battery delivers a high energy density of 661 W h kg⁻¹ after 100 cycles. • Building the new battery offers an effective way to solve Li-S cell's safety issues.