Designing principles of advanced sulfur cathodes toward practical lithium‐sulfur batteries

As one of the most promising candidates for next-generation energy storage systems, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have gained wide attention owing to their ultrahigh theoretical energy density and low cost. Nevertheless, their road to commercial application is still full of thorns due to the inherent sluggish redox kinetics and severe polysulfides shuttle. Incorporating sulfur cathodes with adsorbents/catalysts has been proposed to be an effective strategy to address the foregoing challenges, whereas the complexity of sulfur cathodes resulting from the intricate design parameters greatly influences the corresponding energy density, which has been frequently ignored. In this review, the recent progress in design strategies of advanced sulfur cathodes is summarized and the significance of compatible regulation among sulfur active materials, tailored hosts, and elaborate cathode configuration is clarified, aiming to bridge the gap between fundamental research and practical application of Li-S batteries. The representative strategies classified by sulfur encapsulation, host architecture, and cathode configuration are first highlighted to illustrate their synergetic contribution to the electrochemical performance improvement. Feasible integration principles are also proposed to guide the practical design of advanced sulfur cathodes. Finally, prospects and future directions are provided to realize high energy density and long-life Li-S batteries.