A series of sodium phosphorothioate complexes are shown to have electrochemical properties attractive for sodium-sulfur battery applications across a wide operating temperature range. As cathode materials, they resolve a long-standing issue of cyclic liquid–solid phase transition that causes sluggish reaction kinetics and poor cycling stability in conventional, room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries. The cathode chemistry yields 80% cyclic retention after 400 cycles at room temperature and a superior low-temperature performance down to −60 °C. Coupled experimental characterization and density functional theory calculations revealed the complex structures and electrochemical reaction mechanisms. The desirable electrochemical properties are attributed to the ability of the complexes to prevent the formation of solid precipitates over a fairly wide range of voltage.

一系列硫代磷酸钠配合物显示出具有对宽工作温度范围内的钠硫电池应用有吸引力的电化学特性。作为正极材料，它们解决了长期存在的循环液固相变问题，该问题导致传统室温钠硫电池的反应动力学缓慢和循环稳定性差。阴极化学在室温下循环 400 次后可产生 80% 的循环保留率，并在低至 -60 °C 时具有出色的低温性能。耦合实验表征和密度泛函理论计算揭示了复杂的结构和电化学反应机制。