Chromatographic and Spectroscopic Study of the Interaction between Polysulfides and Copper Sulfides

Zheng, Dong; Qin, Yang; Qiu, Dantong; Li, Sirius; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Yang, Xiao-Qing; Qu, Deyang

doi:10.1021/acsaem.5c03163

Chromatographic and Spectroscopic Study of the Interaction between Polysulfides and Copper Sulfides

Journal Article · Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2025 · ACS Applied Energy Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.5c03163· OSTI ID:3013663

^[1]; Qin, Yang ^[1]; Qiu, Dantong ^[1]; Li, Sirius ^[1]; Zhang, Xiaoxiao ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]

Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

To mitigate the “polysulfide shuttle” in lithium–sulfur batteries, different hosting materials that can interact with the polysulfide species physically or chemically have been widely investigated. Copper sulfides as one type of material are believed to have strong chemical interactions with the polysulfide species to consequently influence the performances of Li–S batteries. In this work, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) were used to systematically investigate the interactions between ether-based polysulfide solutions and copper sulfides (as well as silver sulfide). Furthermore, based on chromatographic and spectroscopic results, the interactions between polysulfides and Cu₂S can be classified into two types of reactions: one is the redox reaction with the formation of CuS, while another is the complexation reaction with the formation of soluble LiCuS_n (n ≥ 4). Contrarily, Ag₂S (and CuS) shows no interactions with polysulfides. Accordingly, the cycling behaviors of Li–S batteries with copper sulfides as hosting materials or with copper as additives were explained reasonably.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704

OSTI ID:: 3013663

Report Number(s):: BNL--229338-2026-JAAM

Journal Information:: ACS Applied Energy Materials, Journal Name: ACS Applied Energy Materials Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 9; ISSN 2574-0962

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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