Synthesis of High-Sulfur-Content Resins via Inverse Vulcanization Using Dithiols and Their Application as Cathode Materials for Lithium–Sulfur Rechargeable Batteries

Abstract

In this study, we developed lithium–sulfur rechargeable batteries using chemically modified thermoplastic sulfur polymers as cathode active materials, aiming to effectively utilize surplus sulfur resources. The resulting high-sulfur-content resins exhibited self-healing properties, extensibility, and adhesiveness. By leveraging its high solubility in specific organic solvents, we successfully introduced sulfur-based compounds into porous carbon via vacuum impregnation using a solution, rather than conventional thermal impregnation. Charge–discharge measurements of lithium–sulfur (Li-S) secondary batteries assembled with this more uniform composite cathode, compared to those using elemental sulfur, demonstrated an increased discharge capacity in the initial cycles and at higher rates.