In SSB-LIC@NCA, in contrast, there is no obvious morphological change, neither for LPSCl (Fig. ) nor for NCA (Fig. ). The physical contact between the individual components remains intact after cycling (Fig. ). EDS mapping over the composite cathode cross section reveals an intact In ring around NCA (Fig ) after 200 cycles, no extra peaks in the In 3d and Cl 2p XPS spectra (Fig. ) and significant lower intense extra peaks in S 2p spectra, which suggests that the LIC suppresses or modifies the interfacial side reactions while retaining its structural integrity and intimate contact with NCA particles. The XPS of SSB-LIC@NCA (Fig. ) shows that, in the case of S 2p, the LIC effectively suppresses the formation of oxygenated sulfur (SOX) compounds beyond 166 eV, while increasing secondary components (162.5-163.7 eV binding energy range). On the other hand, P 2p shows an increase in the secondary components for the SSB-LIC@NCA compared to SSB@NCA. These changes, together with evidence from other techniques, can be interpreted as the formation of a protective layer of reacted LPSCl with the LIC coating. Due to the surface sensitivity of XPS, the results here only provide partial information about the nature of this layer, but it should be related to a better performance and lower degradation of the core NCA. The protective layer has been previously reported as a layer where, upon cycling, Li ions are spontaneously migrating at the cathode│electrolyte interface, decomposing the positive electrode . Similar reactions may occur as soon as the coating get in contact with LPSCl. Additional reactions between protecting coatings and electrolyte have been recently reported in other cathode architectures that display improved characteristics . Further information on XPS is given in Supplementary Note 2 and Fig. , S12. Correspondingly, there is no delay and no non-linear change in regard to lattice parameters (Fig. ), during charging and discharging. The improved stability of LIC@NCA compared to NCA is even more prominent after 200 cycles as depicted in the XRD patterns in Fig. . For the composite cathodes containing LIC@NCA, the XRD pattern reveals phases of LPSCl and NCA with minor secondary reflections that can be assigned to Ni3S4 and Li3PO4 (Fig. ). Besides, the peak belonging to LIC (Fig. ) does not change or show any significant shifting with increasing voltage from ~2 V (OCV) to 4.2V (vs. Li + /Li), indicating that LIC is stable, and responsible for the improved stability.