A systematical review on preparation, microstructure, cyclic parameters, and anchoring NaPSs of cathodes containing electrocatalysts for room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries

The cathodes for room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries suffer from drawbacks such as poor conductivity of sulfur and sodium polysulfides (NaPSs), shuttle effect, high volume expansion, and challenging electrochemical kinetics. Despite the variety of cathodes containing electrocatalysts available for electrochemical performance improvement of RT Na-S batteries, there is a dearth of comparative analysis on their preparation and cyclic parameters. Therefore, this review thoroughly evaluated the preparation, microstructure, cyclic parameters, and anchoring NaPSs of cathodes containing electrocatalysts for RT Na-S batteries to inform future improvements. The preparation procedure of different cathodes containing electrocatalysts for RT Na-S batteries was summarized systematically, and the most superior cathodes were identified. Additionally, the review analyzed the advantages and shortcomings of different procedures and clarified the electrochemical advantages of different electrocatalysts. Finally, the future development of the cathode design was outlined. We are hopeful that this investigation will offer current thorough information on the future paths of cathode designing for RT Na-S batteries.