Carbon-based anodes for lithium sulfur full cells with high cycle stability

The lithium sulfur battery system has been studied since the late 1970s and has seen renewed interest in recent years. However, even after three decades of intensive research, prolonged cycling can only be achieved when a large excess of electrolyte and lithium is used. Here, for the first time, a balanced and stable lithium sulfur full cell is demonstrated with silicon-carbon as well as all-carbon anodes. More than 1000 cycles, a specific capacity up to 1470 mAh g-1 sulfur (720 mAh g-1 cathode), and a high coulombic efficiency of over 99% even with a low amount of electrolyte are achieved. The alternative anodes do not suffer from electrolyte depletion, which is found to be the main cause of cell failure when using metallic lithium anodes.