Recent progress in advanced organosulfur cathode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries

Organic electrode materials are considered as ideal candidates for the next generation of rechargeable batteries owing to their safety, environmental friendliness, sustainability, structure designability, and low price. Among them, organosulfur compounds are promising cathodes for advanced lithium batteries due to their high theoretical capacity and working potential, and have attracted much attention. However, some intrinsic problems such as low conductivity, high solubility in electrolytes, and poor stability have seriously affected the promising perspective of organosulfur cathode materials. This review introduces the latest researches on the basic properties and reaction mechanisms of organosulfur compounds (thioether, organodisulfide, organopolysulfide, and sulfurized polyacrylonitrile) and summarizes the design strategies to improve their capacity, voltage plateau, cycling stability, and rate performance caused by intrinsic problems. In this review, significant challenges and prospects of organosulfur compounds as cathode materials of lithium batteries are investigated. The purpose of this review is to provide meaningful guidance for researchers to promote the development of organosulfur cathode materials.