PEDOT:PSS Dual-Function Film Initiated 1,3-Dioxolane Polymerization in Li/S Cells

The lithium/sulfur batteries are of significant interest because of their potential use in next-generation energy storage. After years of efforts, the bottleneck in their application still remains to be the polysulfide dissolution and thus induced impact on the cathode itself, the electrolyte, and the Li anode. In this work, in situ 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) polymerization initiated by the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) co-polymer is proposed and further introduced into the Li/S cell by a piece of the dual-function PEDOT:PSS film. The synergistic effect of PSS and PEDOT is revealed and their roles are investigated. With the PEDOT:PSS film and single DOL solvent electrolyte, the quasi-solid-state electrolyte is in situ formed within the cell and in turn leads to a 840 mA h/g capacity after 100 cycles, accompanied with a constant efficiency of similar to 99%. The work sheds more light on the in situ polymerization technique and provides a comprehensive approach for solving the issues of Li/S cells.