The use of a ternary metal sulfide loading on carbon fibers as the sulfur host for high performance low-temperature lithium sulfur batteries

• FCNS@NCFs, a nitrogen-doped carbon fiber loaded with ternary metal sulfide (Fe, Co, Ni)9S8, serves as an effective sulfur host for Li-S batteries. • The material exhibits high catalytic activity and selective polysulfide adsorption, enhancing sulfur conversion kinetics and suppressing the shuttle effect. • At room temperature, the FCNS@NCFs-based cathode delivers an initial discharge capacity of 1639.0 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and retains 1255.1 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. • At −20 °C, the cathode still achieves an initial capacity of 1578.5 mAh g−1 and retains 867.5 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles, demonstrating excellent low-temperature performance.