Atom-Thick Interlayer Made of CVD-Grown Graphene Film on Separator for Advanced Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium–sulfur batteries are widely seen as a promising next-generation energy-storage system owing to their ultrahigh energy density. Although extensive research efforts have tackled poor cycling performance and self-discharge, battery stability has been improved at the expense of energy density. We have developed an interlayer consisting of two-layer chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene supported by a conventional polypropylene (PP) separator. Unlike interlayers made of discrete nano-/microstructures that increase the thickness and weight of the separator, the CVD-graphene is an intact film with an area of 5 × 60 cm2 and has a thickness of ∼0.6 nm and areal density of ∼0.15 μg cm–2, which are negligible to those of the PP separator. The CVD-graphene on PP separator is the thinnest and lightest interlayer to date and is able to suppress the shuttling of polysulfides and enhance the utilization of sulfur, leading to concurrently improved specific capacity, rate capability, and cycle stability and suppressed self-discharge when assembled with cathodes consisting of different sulfur/carbon composites and electrolytes either with or without LiNO3 additive.