The Significance of Elemental Sulfur Dissolution in Liquid Electrolyte Lithium Sulfur Batteries

It is shown that the dissolution of elemental sulfur into, and its diffusion through, the electrolyte allows cycling of lithium–sulfur batteries in which the sulfur is initially far removed and electrically insulated from the current collector. These findings help to understand why liquid electrolyte lithium–sulfur batteries can be efficiently cycled, despite the extremely insulating properties of sulfur.