Lithium–sulfur batteries are highly attractive energy storage systems, but suffer from structural anode and cathode degradation, capacity fade and fast cell failure (dry out). To address these issues, a carbide-derived carbon (DUT-107) featuring a high surface area (2088 m² g⁻¹), high total pore volume (3.17 cm³ g⁻¹) and hierarchical micro-, meso- and macropore structure is applied as a rigid scaffold for sulfur infiltration. The DUT-107/S cathodes combine excellent mechanical stability and high initial capacities (1098–1208 mA h gs ⁻¹) with high sulfur content (69.7 wt% per total electrode) and loading (2.3–2.9 mgs cm⁻²). Derived from the effect of the electrolyte-to-sulfur ratio on capacity retention and cyclability, conducting salt is substituted by polysulfide additive for reduced polysulfide leakage and capacity stabilization. Moreover, in a full cell model system using a prelithiated hard carbon anode, the performance of DUT-107/S cathodes is demonstrated over 4100 cycles (final capacity of 422 mA h gs ⁻¹), with a very low capacity decay of 0.0118% per cycle. Application of PS additive further boosts the performance (final capacity of 554 mA h gs ⁻¹), although a slightly higher decay of 0.0125% per cycle is observed.

Porous carbons are promising anode materials for next generation lithium batteries due to their large lithium storage capacities. However, their highsloping capacity during lithiation and delithiation as well as capacity fading due to intense formation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) limit their gravimetric and volumetric energy densities. Herein we compare a microporous carbide derived carbon material (MPC) as promising future anode for all solid state batteries with a commercial high performance hard carbon anode. The MPC obtains high and reversible lithiation capacities of 1000 mAh g 1 carbon in half cells exhibiting an extended plateau region near 0 V vs. Li/Liþ preferable for full cell application. The well defined microporosity of the MPC with a specific surface area of >1500 m2 g 1 combines well with the argyrodite type electrolyte (Li6PS5Cl) suppressing extensive SEI formation to deliver high coulombic efficiencies. Preliminary full cell measurements vs. nickel rich NMC cathodes (LiNi0.9Co0.05Mn0.05O2) provide a considerably improved average potential of 3.76 V leading to a projected energy density as high as 449 Wh kg 1 and reversible cycling for more than 60 cycles. 7Li Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy was combined with ex situ Small Angle X ray Scattering to elucidate the storage mechanism of lithium inside the carbon matrix. The formation of extended quasi metallic lithium clusters after electrochemical lithiation was revealed.