# Disulfide‐Assisted Organic Polysulfide Cathode Design Enables Improved Kinetics in Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new cathode material for lithium-sulfur batteries that improves performance by reducing the shuttle effect and enhancing ion transport.

## Contribution

The novel use of disulfide-assisted organic polysulfides with high sulfur content improves battery kinetics and capacity retention.

## Key findings

- The TMTD-24S@ECP600JD cathode shows 79.1% capacity retention after 250 cycles at 0.2C.
- TMTD-54S@ECP600JD achieves 941 mAh g−1 initial discharge capacity and 82.1% retention after 200 cycles.
- The material exhibits a high lithium-ion diffusion coefficient and maintains 638.3 mAh g−1 at 2C.

## Abstract

Lithium‐sulfur batteries (LSBs) is fundamentally limited by the “shuttle effect” and poor kinetics. To address these challenges, this study proposes an approach through developing a novel organic polysulfide composite cathode with high sulfur loading. By implementing a radical reaction between elemental sulfur and a disulfide of tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD), linear organic polysulfides (TMTD‐S) containing over 70 wt% sulfur are successfully synthesized. This kind of material features a covalently bonded R‐Sn‐R (R=C2H6N(S)) backbone. Further compounding with the conductive carbon (ECP600JD) and integrating into a paper‐based electrode help to improve the electrode's conductivity and optimized ion transport pathways. The obtained TMTD‐24S@ECP600JD cathode demonstrates a capacity retention rate of 79.1% after 250 cycles at 0.2C, far superior to traditional S@ECP600JD materials (14.1%). By increasing the sulfur content in TMTD, higher sulfur‐content linear organic polysulfides are also obtained. Among them, the TMTD‐54S@ECP600JD with 88 wt% sulfur content exhibits the best electrochemical performance and the highest lithium‐ion diffusion coefficient, delivering an initial discharge capacity of 941 mAh g−1 at 0.2C, with a capacity retention rate of 82.1% after 200 cycles. Even at a high rate of 2C, it still maintained a high specific capacity of 638.3 mAh g−1, making it a potential material for high‐performance Li‐S batteries.

This study synthesizes linear organic polysulfides with sulfur content exceeding 70 wt% via a radical reaction between sulfur and tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD). The material features a covalent R‐Sn‐R backbone, helps to suppress the shuttle effect and enhance kinetics.The TMTD‐S cathode demonstrates a high discharge capacity of 941 mAh g‐1 and good cycling performance. © 2026 WILEY‐VCH GmbH