Rational design of carbon nanotube architectures for lithium–chalcogen batteries: Advances and perspectives

Abstract Rechargeable Li–chalcogen (S, Se, and Te) batteries (LCBs) have attracted considerable interest owing to their high theoretical capacities and energy densities. However, LCBs normally suffer from dramatic volume expansion of elemental chalcogen, dissolution and shuttling of intermediates in ether electrolytes, and serious Li dendrite growth. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been employed to resolve these pressing issues, including the construction of cathodes, fabrication of interlayers, modification of separators, and design of Li anodes. In this review, the properties of different chalcogen elements and the electrochemistry of LCBs are first provided. Next, the multiple functions of CNTs are presented to mitigate the notorious issues faced by LCBs. More importantly, recent representative studies on CNT-based architectures for LCBs are presented and analyzed in detail, in terms of design concepts, fabrication methods, electrochemical performance, and underlying mechanisms. Finally, the remaining issues and future challenges in the adoption of CNTs for LCBs are discussed. It is believed that this paper can provide new insights into the further development and commercialization of LCBs.