Congratulations to Li Shuping and Dr. Zhang Wei for their review on the application of eutectic accelerators in sulfur cathodes "Selenium or tellurium as eutectic accelerator for high performance Li/Na-S batteries" was accepted by Electrochemical Energy Review!

Lithium/sodium-sulfur (S) batteries are considered to be one of the most promising next-generation battery systems due to their high energy density and low cost. However, the insulating properties of sulfur and the solubility of intermediate polysulfides have greatly hindered the development of lithium/sodium-sulfur batteries. In this review, it is systematically described that selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) as eutectic accelerators can effectively improve the performance of sulfur cathodes. Through the S-Se or S-Te bond, Se and Te can be uniformly dispersed at the molecular level with the active material S, and at the same time contribute capacity through the redox reaction of Se and Te itself. Under the "dissolution-deposition" mechanism, Se and Te can greatly accelerate the reaction kinetics and ease the dissolution of polysulfides, thereby obtaining excellent lithium/sodium-sulfur battery performance; in the solid phase conversion mechanism and all-solid-state batteries, Se and Te can improve the conductivity and lithium ion conductivity of the sulfur cathode, realizing a high-performance lithium-sulfur battery. Therefore, both Se and Te modified sulfur cathodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance in lithium/sodium-sulfur batteries, which provides a novel and forward-looking strategy for the construction of high-performance lithium/sodium-sulfur batteries in the future.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41918-020-00072-5