Investigation of an Industrially Scalable Production of Sulfur-Polyacrylonitrile Based Cathodes

Sulfur-polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) is a sulfur-based active material for next-generation lithium-sulfur battery cathodes. Due to the covalent bonding between sulfur chains and the polymeric backbone, the shuttle effect degrading classical sulfur-based cathodes can be suppressed while also achieving a high active material content in the cathode. In this paper, we investigate the processability of an industrially scalable SPAN active material with 38 wt.-% of sulfur in a water-based and scalable process route. The potential of the SPAN material for industrial adoption and the impact of the process route on the cell performance are discussed. We show that when processed correctly, the SPAN material delivers exceptional cycling stability and good C-rate performance with ether-based electrolytes. However, the performance of the SPAN cathode is influenced by the mixing characteristic. Using higher mixing intensities during the slurry preparation leads to deterioration of the electrochemical performance. This can be attributed to a decreasing carbon black percolation with increasing tip speed in combination with the kinetic limitation of sulfur cathodes during Li₂S₂ and Li₂S oxidation.