Highly dispersed cobalt clusters/nanoparticles embedded in cellulose nanocrystal derived carbon aerogel as efficient sulfur host for high performance lithium sulfur batteries

utilization, effective suppression of the shuttle effect and fast catalytic conversion of polysulfides, thereby contributing to outstanding electrochemical performance. Consequently, CA/Co-2@S cathode delivers high initial discharge capacity (1553.1 mAh g -1 at 0.1C) and superior cycle stability. Moreover, a remarkable rate performance of 681.4 mAh g -1 at 5.0C and exceptional long-term cycling stability with an ultralow capacity decay of 0.028 % per cycle at 5.0C over 1000 cycles could be achieved when coupled with carbon paper interlayer. This work develops a workable strategy for fabricating multifunctional sulfur host derived from the fascinating bio-nanomaterial of CNC, which provides valuable guidance for the future design of highperformance Li-S batteries.