development. First, the low electronic conductivity of elemental sulfur results in a low active material utilization and large polarization. Second, the high solubility and shuttle effect of lithium polysulfide intermediates cause an irreversible loss of the active material and low Coulombic efficiency. Third, the significant volume expansion of sulfur (80%) in the lithiation process destroys the structural integrity of electrodes and induces the rapid capacity decay. [3] Furthermore, conventional lithium-sulfur batteries are generally composed of a sulfur cathode and a lithium metal anode. The uncontrollable lithium dendrites on the lithium metal anode during the charging-discharging process will result in short-circuit and safety problems. [4] In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to overcome these shortcomings. Although significant progress has been noticed in the improvement of electrochemical performance, safety issues arising from the lithium metal anode have already hampered the industrial commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries. Li 2 S, fully lithiated sulfur, with an outstanding theoretical specific capacity of 1166 mA h g −1 , is a promising cathode material for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries. In comparison with sulfur, the Li 2 S-based cathode could be paired with an anode made of graphite, silicon, or tin, which avoids the internal short-circuit and safety hazards caused by lithium metal. Moreover, no volume expansion issue occurs during the lithiation-delithiation process because Li 2 S is at the maximum volume state. [5] In addition, Li 2 S can be modified at high temperatures due to its high thermal stability. Unfortunately, similar to sulfur, Li 2 S also endures low electronic conductivity and high dissolution of polysulfide intermediates, resulting in high overpotential in the initial charging state, low capacity, low Coulombic efficiency, and drastic capacity decay. Moreover, high cost and preparation and processing difficulties severely hinder Li 2 S from widespread application in lithium-sulfur batteries. [6] The introduction of the electrically conductive additives, such as carbonaceous materials, into Li 2 S cathodes is a simple and effective method to enhance the conductivity and the active material utilization. [7] The encapsulation of Li 2 S into Lithium sulfide (Li 2 S) is an attractive cathode material for lithium-sulfur batteries due to its matching with the lithium-metal-free anode, but limited by its preparation and processing difficulty, low electronic conductivity, and high dissolution of polysulfide intermediates. Herein, a novel, low-cost, and scalable method (termed as inverse fabrication route) is proposed to directly prepare Li 2 S-based electrodes. This methodology uniformly anchors in situ generated Li 2 S nanocrystals with a controllable size of 5-10 nm on the woven carbon fibers (WCF) substrate to fabricate a spatial conductive network structure, which provides continuous high-speed pathways for electron/ion transport. Furthermore, Li 2 S na...
