Sulfur-poly(acrylonitrile) (SPAN) composites were synthesized from different poly(acrylonitrile)-(PAN) sulfur mixtures. This way it was possible to increase the sulfur content and concomitantly the measured specific capacity of the final lithium-sulfur batteries from 300 mAh/g(cathode) to 440 mAh/g(cathode) (629 mAh/g(composite), 1429 mAh/g(sulfur)). A maximum of 44 wt-% of covalently bound sulfur was reached using a PAN-sulfur ratio of 1: 15 (wt/wt). Virtually no loss of capacity was observed during the first 40 cycles. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.