Collection Overview 

Scientific Reports has launched a Guest-Edited Collection on Metal-sulfur battery. 

Metal-Sulfur batteries represent a promising class of electrochemical energy storage systems that utilize sulfur as the cathode and metals such as lithium, sodium, or potassium as the anode. Their significance stems from sulfur’s high theoretical capacity, natural abundance, and low cost, offering an alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries reliant on critical materials like cobalt. These batteries exhibit exceptionally high energy densities—particularly the lithium-sulfur (Li-S) type, which theoretically surpass lithium-ion counterparts by over fivefold. However, practical deployment has been hindered by challenges like the polysulfide shuttle effect, leading to rapid capacity degradation, limited cycle life, and sulfur’s insulating nature. Current research focuses on mitigating these issues through exploring advanced cathode materials (e.g., sulfur encapsulated in nanostructured carbon hosts), using solid-state electrolytes to suppress polysulfide diffusion, and designing anode protection layers.

This will be a Collection of original research papers  and will be open for submissions from all authors – on the condition that the manuscripts fall within the scope of the Collection and of Scientific Reports more generally. We are welcoming submissions until 21st May 2026.

Why is this Collection important?

"Sulfur is an abundant, non-toxic, and low-cost element. It is a byproduct of the petroleum industry, making it far cheaper than the cobalt, nickel, and manganese used in traditional lithium-ion cathodes. Metal (Li/Na/K/Mg/Ca et al) -sulfur batteries are considered a highly promising next-generation energy storage technology. They offer several compelling advantages over conventional lithium-ion batteries, such as high energy density, environmentally benign and low cost. metal-sulfur batteries also face significant challenges that researchers are actively working to solve, such as the "polysulfide shuttle effect" and limited electronic conductivity. This collection will focus on the up-to-date solutions for Metal-sulfur battery."

- Dr. Jinkui Feng, Guest Editor

Why submit to a collection?  

Collections like this one help promote high-quality science. They are led by Guest Editors, who are experts in their fields, and In-House Editors and are supported by a dedicated team of Commissioning Editors and Managing Editors at Springer Nature. Collection manuscripts typically see higher citations, downloads, and Altmetric scores and provide a one-stop-shop on a cutting-edge topic of interest.  

Who is involved?

Guest Editors:

• Jinkui Feng, Shandong University, China
• An-Giang Nguyen, VinUniversity, Vietnam
• Cengiz Ozkan, University of California, USA

Internal Team:

• In-House Editor: Chenyu Wang, Scientific Reports, USA
• Commissioning Editor: Quintina Dawson, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK
• Managing Editor: Eleanor Smith, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK

How can I submit my paper?

Visit the Collection page for more information on the Collection, and how to submit your article.