Environmentally Friendly Binders for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have attracted the battery community's attention in recent years because of the ultra-high theoretical specific capacity and energy density. To realize the commercial application of LSBs, issues including lithium polysulfide shuttle effects, insulating active materials, and large volume changes are urgently to be solved, especially LSBs with high sulfur loading suffering from more serious capacity fading. Developing environmentally friendly and multifunctional binders would not only overcome the problems existing in LSBs but could also satisfy the requirements for green materials. In this Review, we first conclude the required characteristics for binders in LSBs, then summarize the research progress of ecofriendly binders in detail, as well as outstanding binders applied in high-sulfur-loading electrodes. Finally, the challenges and development direction of binders for future industrial applications in LSBs are also highlighted.