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Nitrogen-doped microporous carbon spheres (NPCSs) with a high surface area (1958 m 2 g −1 ), large micropore volume and a high nitrogen content were synthesized by a simple one-step polymerization and subsequent ZnCl 2 activation. The NPCSs can host a large number of small sulfur molecules, and restrict the reaction between the carbonate-based electrolytes and polysulfides. As a result, the NPCSs-sulfur (NPCS S) cathode exhibits excellent cyclic stability (initial capacity of 1382 mAh g −1 and 1002 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles at 0.3 C) and high rate performance (645 mAh g −1 at 3 C) even using the conventional carbonate-based electrolytes, demonstrating its potential use in long-life, safe lithium-sulfur batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]