Rational designs and engineering of hollow micro-/nanostructures as sulfur hosts for advanced lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted much attention in the field of electrochemical energy storage and conversion. As a vital part of the cathode electrode, the host materials of sulfur usually have a strong impact on the capacity, energy density, cycle life and Coulombic efficiency of Li-S batteries. With their unique physical and chemical properties, the rationally designed hollow nanostructures show conspicuous advantages as sulfur hosts, and have significantly improved the overall performance of Li-S cells. The scope of this review considers the unique structural advantages of hollow host materials for high-performance Li-S batteries, together with a summary of recent advances in the design and synthesis of various hollow micro-/nanostructures with controlled shapes, tailored shell structures and designed chemical compositions. Finally, we propose some emerging requirements of sulfur hosts which we hope will shed some light on the future development trend of hollow structures for advanced Li-S batteries. Rationally designed hollow nanostructures are attractive host materials for the sulfur cathode in lithium-sulfur batteries.