Although the lithium-sulfur battery has attracted significant attention because of its high theoretical energy density and low cost of elemental sulfur, its real application is still hindered by multiple challenges, especially the polysulfides shuttled between the cathode and anode electrodes. By originating from β-cyclodextrin and introducing a quaternary ammonium cation into β-cyclodextrin polymer, a new multifunctional aqueous polycation binder (β-CDp-N(+)) for the sulfur cathode is obtained. The unique hyperbranched network structure of the new binder β-CDp-N(+) as well as its multidimensional noncovalent interactions and the introduced cations endowed β-CDp-N(+) with some new abilities: a sulfur-electrode-stabilized ability, a polysulfides-immobilized ability, and a volume-accommodated ability, which help to ease the primary problems of the lithium-sulfur battery, i.e., the shuttle of polysulfides and the volume change of the sulfur during charge and discharge. It is demonstrated that cycling performance and rate capability of the cathodes can be the improved by using β-CDp-N(+) as the binder compared to other well-known binders. Even with high sulfur loading of 5.5 mg cm(-2), the cathode with β-CDp-N(+) still can deliver an areal capacity of 4.4 mAh cm(-2) at 50 mA g(-1) after 45 cycles, which is much higher than that achieved using the cathode with the conventional binder (0.9 mAh cm(-2)).

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In this paper, a sulfonated carbon coated separator is proposed with high permselectivity to lithium ions against polysulfide anions for improving the overall performance of Li–S batteries.

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In this work, a micro–nano-structured CS@CTAB/ABS + CNTS electrode with a high sulfur content of 76 wt% and a high sulfur mass loading of 6.7–11.1 mg cm−2 was constructed for application in Li–S batteries via the blade-casting technique, which could deliver a high areal capacity of 11.22 mA h cm−2.

A series of wholly carborane‐containing polyesters with high thermostability were successfully synthesized by the catalytic polycondensation of carborane diol monomers with carborane diacid chlorides. They can be used for the preparation of materials of high temperature resistant coatings and adhesive. The influence of solvent, reaction temperature, and reaction time on the molecular weight and yield of the polymers were studied. In comparison with the carborane‐free polyester, the carborane‐containing polyesters showed higher degradation temperature and char yield and lower degradation rate. The thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) curves indicate that the carborane group could effectively reduce the degradation rate of carborane‐containing polyesters, which give a char yield of exceeding 64% under air (47% under N2) at 700 °C. Such data are superior to the carborane‐free polyester, which showed a low char yield of around 0.3% under air (5% under N2) at the same condition. Moreover, the thermal transition mechanism of carborane‐containing polyesters was also studied. The FTIR spectra and TG‐FTIR analysis indicate that the carborane cage could react with oxygen to form BOB and BC linkages at elevated temperatures, which postpones the thermal decomposition of polyester and accounts for the high char yield. The newly prepared kind of high temperature polyesters have enormous technical and economic value, especially in the high temperature fields. They can be widely used as raw materials to prepare the high temperature resistant coatings or adhesives for automotive engine, aircraft and other equipments worked in high‐temperature environments. Under high environmental temperature, the good thermal stability is capable of keeping polyesters stable and expanding their service lives. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44202.