Scientists have developed an ultra-thin coating material that may potentially improve the efficiency and enhance the life of lithium-sulphur batteries. <br/><br/>Lithium-sulphur batteries are one of the most promising areas of energy research today, scientists said. Researchers in the US found that the new material – a dendrimer-graphene oxide composite film – can be applied to any sulphur cathode. A cathode is the positive terminal on a battery.<br/><br/>Sulphur cathodes coated with the material can be stably discharged and recharged for more than 1,000 cycles, enhancing the battery's efficiency and number of cycles, researchers said. Researchers combined the distinct properties of two material components.<br/><br/>They merged the mechanical strength of graphene oxide with the ability of a dendrimer molecule to confine lithium polysulfides. The result was a gel-like slurry that can be readily coated as a 100-nanometre-thin film onto sulphur electrodes.