Chemists have long known that lithium-sulfur has huge potential as a next-generation battery solution, combining the strengths of a fuel cell (very energy dense) with the strengths of a battery (self-contained energy storage) – all in a package that is extremely environmentally-friendly and that has a low cost of manufacture. 

The problem is that cathodes of sulfur and lithium have lots of material loss due to the solubility of polysulfides, and are not often efficient because sulfur has insulative properties rather than conductive. Arranging the sulfur in the lithium mix via various methods has previously shown promise, but has strict limits that have so far not allowed Li-S batteries to be viable for commercialization.

Various attempts to control the sulfur within the lithium mix have usually centered on porous carbons (usually activated carbon) for macroporous, mesoporous, and microporous solutions to make carbon-sulfur hybrids. These have worked, to a point, but have restricted pore volumes and thus limited viability. Likewise, sulfur copolymers have been a promising choice, but still have conductivity issues.