Lithium–sulfur battery

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Do not carry lithium-ion assumptions into every chemistry.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

Connected concepts

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Conversion reaction

An electrode reaction in which the host compound is broken down and reformed, as sulfur or a metal fluoride is, rather than lithium slotting into an intact structure. Conversion materials store more charge than intercalation hosts but suffer large volume change and voltage hysteresis.

Lithium-metal battery

A rechargeable cell whose negative electrode is lithium metal rather than a host material. It promises much higher energy density than lithium-ion, but lithium deposits unevenly on charge, so dendrites and short life have kept it from the mass market.

Polysulfide shuttle

The parasitic loop in a lithium–sulfur cell in which long-chain polysulfides, Li₂Sₙ with n from 4 to 8, dissolve into the electrolyte, diffuse to the lithium electrode, are reduced there and diffuse back. It causes self-discharge, low coulombic efficiency and loss of sulfur; lithium nitrate, which passivates the lithium surface, is the usual additive against it.

Specific energy

Stored energy per unit mass, in watt-hours per kilogram. Commercial lithium-ion cells range from about 160 Wh/kg for LFP to around 270 Wh/kg for high-nickel chemistries; at pack level the figure drops by a quarter or more.

References & further reading

Technical references

1. Promise and reality of post-lithium-ion batteries with high energy densities

   Jang Wook Choi, Doron Aurbach · Nature Reviews Materials · 2016

   Technical reference · Post-lithium-ion materials and battery concepts, including practical cell-level limitations; historical 2016 perspective.

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

2. DOE/EPRI 2013 Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA

   Sandia National Laboratories · 2013

   Topic background · Storage technologies and grid services. The publisher notes that its historical cost and deployment figures are outdated.