Lithium–sulfur battery possesses high energy density but suffers from severe capacity fading due to the dissolution of lithium polysulfides. Novel design and mechanisms to encapsulate lithium polysulfides are greatly desired by high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries towards practical applications. Herein, we report a strategy of utilizing anthraquinone, a natural abundant organic molecule, to suppress dissolution and diffusion of polysulfides species through redox reactions during cycling. The keto groups of anthraquinone play a critical role in forming strong Lewis acid-based chemical bonding. This mechanism leads to a long cycling stability of sulfur-based electrodes. With a high sulfur content of ~73%, a low capacity decay of 0.019% per cycle for 300 cycles and retention of 81.7% over 500 cycles at 0.5 C rate can be achieved. This finding and understanding paves an alternative avenue for the future design of sulfur–based cathodes toward the practical application of lithium–sulfur batteries.

Seawater electrolysis is a promising technology for the production of hydrogen energy and seawater desalination. To produce hydrogen energy through seawater electrolysis, highly active electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are required. Here, we report the development of a Ni-doped FeOOH anode for high-efficiency anion exchange membrane alkaline seawater electrolysis. The Ni-doped FeOOH anode showed an overpotential of only 301 mV in half-cell tests, reaching a current density of 100 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 M KOH + seawater. An anion exchange membrane electrolyzer catalyzed by Ni-doped FeOOH exhibited a current density of 729 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 M KOH + seawater with an energy conversion efficiency of 76.35%. Compared to the reported AEM electrolyzer operated in 1.0 M KOH, our AEM electrolyzer catalyzed with Ni-doped FeOOH operated in 1.0 M KOH + seawater exhibited higher performance.