Recent Progress in High Donor Electrolytes for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries continue to be considered promising post‐lithium‐ion batteries owing to their high theoretical energy density. In pursuit of a Li–S cell with long‐term cyclability, most studies thus far have relied on using ether‐based electrolytes. However, their limited ability to dissolve polysulfides requires a high electrolyte‐to‐sulfur ratio, which impairs the achievable specific energy. Recently, the battery community found high donor electrolytes to be a potential solution to this shortcoming because their high solubility toward polysulfides enables a cell to operate under lean electrolyte conditions. Despite the increasing number of promising outcomes with high donor electrolytes, a critical hurdle related to stability of the lithium‐metal counter electrode needs to be overcome. This review provides an overview of recent efforts pertaining to high donor electroly…