Review of Carbon Materials for Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

Abstract Lithium‐sulfur battery as one of the most promising and attractive candidate among the emerging electrical energy storage has attracted enormous attentions. It has superior characteristics of high specific energy density (2600 Wh kg −1 ) and high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mAh g −1 ), which is equal to 3–5 times of lithium‐ion batteries, and more closed to the requirement of the pure electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. Furthermore, sulfur element is inexpensive, naturally abundant, and environmentally friendly. However, the commercial application of lithium‐sulfur batteries (LSBs) still faces some major technical obstacles such as the low electrical conductivity of sulfur, the shuttle effect of polysulfides, and the drastic volume expansion during charge/discharge process. In this review paper, we focus on some of the effective strategies in boosting the electrochemical performance of LSBs through the development of sulfur/carbon composite electrode materials, including the use of porous carbons, carbon nanotubes/fibers, and graphene. The integration of carbon materials and sulfur can efficiently improve the utilization of active materials, enhance the conductivity of cathode materials, and provide a polysulfides barrier. Simultaneously, the challenges and prospects on LSBs in the near future are also presented and discussed.