NEXAFS spectra of model sulfide chains: implications for sulfur networks obtained from inverse vulcanization.

Inverse vulcanization is a promising route to stabilize sulfur in lithium-sulfur batteries, but the resulting sulfur strand lengths in the materials are elusive. We address the strand length by characterization sulfur near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. Theoretical predictions of NEXAFS spectra for model molecules containing strands with up to three sulfur atoms are verified by experiment.