Polysulfide-mediated solvation shell reorganization for fast Li+ transfer probed by in-situ sum frequency generation spectroscopy

Understanding of interfacial Li + solvation shell structures and dynamic evolution at the electrode/electrolyte interface is requisite for developing high-energy-density Li batteries. Herein, the reorganization of Li + solvation shell at the sulfur/electrolyte interface along with the presence of a trace amount of lithium polysulfides is verified by in-situ sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Both the spectroelectrochemical and DFT calculation results reveal a strongly competitive anion adsorption of the polysulfide anion additive against the pristine electrolyte anion on the sulfur cathode surface, reorganizing the interfacial local solvation shell structure facilitating rapid Li ion transfer and conduction. Meanwhile, the evolution of the SFG signals along with the discharging/charging cycle exhibits improved reversibility, indicating the transformation of the inner Helmholtz plane layer into a stable molecular-layer polysulfide interphase rather than a dynamic diffusion layer. Consequently, applications in practical Li-S batteries reveal the capacity and cycling stability of the corresponding cells are significantly enhanced. Our work provides a methodology using in-situ SFG for probing solvation reorganization of charge carriers at electrochemical interfaces. The in-situ sum frequency generation spectroscopy together with density functional theory calculations is pioneered to get new understanding of lithium polysulfide additive in the reorganization of Li + solvation shell, modulating the inner Helmholtz plane layer into a stable molecular-layer polysulfide interphase and facilitating interfacial Li ion exhange.