context: Unique graphene-like metallic Co9S8 with a morphology comprised of interconnected porous nanosheets that form a 3D network has been successfully synthesized by Nazar's group through a microwave solvothermal approach based on the reaction of cobalt chloride and TAA in a mixed solvent of water and triethylenetetramine at 160 °C for 1.5 h. Microwaves utilize a solvent dipole–microwave interaction that leads to rapidly superheated regions, triggering rapid nucleation and growth of particles. These distinctive synthesis conditions result in the formation of a long-range nanosheet structure of Co9S8 with a broad pore size distribution. N2 adsorption/desorption analysis indicates a high BET surface area of 108 m2 g−1 and a very large pore volume of 1.07 cm3 g−1 with the majority of pores in the range of 1.2–10 nm and the remainder distributed over 10–80 nm, indicating a texture incorporating micro-, meso-, and macro-pores. This high surface area and pore volume along with hierarchical porosity are vital to induce high intrinsic LiPS adsorptivity and enhance electrolyte penetration across thick electrodes. Li et al. presented the preparation of a S/C–SnS2 composite by ball milling sublimed sulfur, Ketjen Black, and ultrathin SnS2 nanosheets, where the 2D ultrathin nanosheets, fabricated by a one-pot reaction of SnCl4, TAA, and acetic acid, bring about a remarkably large surface area to enhance immobilization capability for LiPSs. In addition to those conventional methods, some innovative technologies can also delicately control the surface area, porosity, and/or polarity of metal sulfides. As an example, Xiao et al. demonstrated a green water-steam-etched approach for the fabrication of H- and O-incorporated porous TiS2 (HOPT) via heat treatment of a commercial TiS2 ball-milling product. During heat treatment, a mist of droplets from ultrapure water is passed into a quartz tube containing the ball-milled TiS2 using Ar-carrier gas. Interestingly, the time and temperature of water steam etching play pivotal roles in modulating the porosity of HOPT. Increasing the temperature from 100 to 500 °C, the specific surface area and pore volume of HOPT increase from 12.7 to 47 m2 g−1 and from 0.075 to 0.25 cm3 g−1, respectively, resulting from the perforation of TiS2 caused by the introduction of hydrogen and oxygen into the S–Ti–S framework during etching. Note that the hydroxyl and thiol groups in HOPT significantly enhance the surface polarity of TiS2, which are also favorable for adsorbing the LiPSs, suppressing the shuttle effect. More laudably, this method possesses excellent generality and can be extended to other TMDs such as CoS2 and NbS2. As reported in a follow-up study, Xiao et al. presented another extremely similar multistep approach to construct sandwich-type NbS2@S@I-doped graphene, which also brings about enhanced polarity and binding affinity for layered NbS2 to ensnare LiPSs.