<p>Compared to commercial&#xa0;lithium-ion batteries, lithium-sulfur (Li–S) batteries offered exceptionally high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mAh g⁻¹) and theoretical energy density (2600 Wh kg⁻¹), positioning them as promising alternatives of conventional Li-ion batteries. However, several key challenges, including shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), capacity fade, volume expansion of the sulfur electrode, and poor conductivity, have hindered the progress of Li–S batteries. In our research, we employed lignosulfonate as a novel sulfur host. And the active sulfur was synthesized and uniformly deposited onto lignin-derived porous carbon. Electrochemical analysis revealed that this sulfur cathode, based on lignin-derived porous carbon hosts containing up to 60.31 wt% sulfur, delivered an outstanding high-rate capacity of 1099.95 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.10 C. The interconnected porous structure of this biomass-derived carbon not only accommodated the volume expansion of active sulfur but also facilitated ion and electron transport, effectively trapped LiPSs and enhanced sulfur utilization. Additionally, the synthesized nanosulfur, characterized by its stable morphology and abundant chemical reaction sites, further improved the utilization of active sulfur. Our work presents a viable solution for the development of composite cathodes for Li–S batteries utilizing biomass-derived carbon materials and nanosulfur.</p> Graphical abstract <p>Lignin-derived porous carbon (LDPC) with heteroatom doping act as efficient sulfur hosts for the adsorption and catalytic conversion of polysulfides. Chemically synthesized nano-sulfur (NS) serves as an excellent active material. Benefiting from the green and environmentally friendly raw materials of LDPC, its unique porous structure, and various heteroatom doping, along with the regular structure and abundant active sites of NS, the NS@LDPC cathode significantly improves the electrochemical stability of lithium-sulfur batteries.</p> <p></p>