Structure and Physicochemical Properties of Solutions of Lithium Polysulfides in Tetrasolvate of Lithium Perchlorate with Sulfolane Molecular Dynamics Modeling

Lithium polysulfides are intermediate products formed during the discharge and charge of lithium–sulfur batteries and have good solubility in electrolyte solutions. Therefore, the properties and structure of solutions of lithium polysulfides in electrolyte solutions affect the energy characteristics of the lithium–sulfur battery. In this work, the structure and physicochemical properties (density, ionic conductivity, and self-diffusion coefficients) of solutions of lithium disulfide, tetrasulfide, and octasulfide in lithium perchlorate tetrasolvate with sulfolane in a wide range of concentrations (0.2–12 M) were studied using the molecular dynamics method. With increasing concentrations of lithium polysulfides, the proportion of sulfur atoms in the coordination sphere of the lithium cation increases and the proportion of sulfolane molecules decreases. It has been established that the ability of the polysulfide anion to act as a bridging ligand leads to the formation of clusters, including lithium perchlorate, lithium polysulfides, and sulfolane. It has been shown that the tendency to form clusters increases with an increasing number of sulfur atoms in the polysulfide anion. At high concentrations of lithium polysulfides, regardless of their size, the electrolyte system becomes a single cluster. With an increase in the concentration of lithium polysulfides in the electrolyte system, its density increases and the ionic conductivity and diffusion coefficients of the system components decrease.