Rechargeable Li-S batteries promise to provide a 2 to 3 times higher specific energy than conventional Li-ion batteries.1 The development of Li-S batteries has been strongly hindered by poor rechargeability, limited rate capability and rapid capacity fading, which largely can be attributed to the dissolution, diffusion and side reactions of soluble polysulfides in the electrolyte2. Applying host materials that can chemically bind polysulfides has been shown one of the most effective approaches in suppressing polysulfide shuttle3, which significantly improve the coulombic efficiency and the cycle life of the Li-S batteries. For instance, metal oxides such as TiO2 4, Ti4O7 5, MnO2 6have been reported effective as polysulfide immobilizers. To rationally design the host materials, it is required to understand the nature of the chemical bonding between the host materials and polysulfides and investigate key materials property that dictates the interactions. In this work, we investigate series of transition metal oxides hosting materials for polysulfide absorption in two model electrolytes including 1,3-dioxolane (DOL):1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). We apply UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to understand the interactions between transition metals and various form of polysulfides (S8 2-, S6 2-, S4 2-). We further apply selected metal oxide hosting materials in Li-S batteries and characterize the effect of hosting materials in the cycling stability of Li-S batteries. We will examine the correlation between the degree of sulfur-absorption revealed by UV-vis spectroscopy and the improvement in the cycling stability of Li-S batteries. The enhancement mechanism and the nature of the bonding between the host materials and polysulfides will be discussed. Acknowledgement: This work is partially supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HK SAR), China, under Theme-based Research Scheme through Project No. T23-407/13-N, and partially supported by a RGC project No. CUHK14200615. Reference: 1. A. Manthiram, Y. Fu, S.-H. Chung, C. Zu and Y.-S. Su, Chem. Rev., 114, 11751 (2014). 2. M. Wild, L. O'Neill, T. Zhang, R. Purkayastha, G. Minton, M. Marinescu and G. Offer, Energy Environ. Sci., 8, 3477 (2015). 3. Q. Pang, X. Liang, C. Y. Kwok and L. F. Nazar, J. Electrochem. Soc., 162, A2567 (2015). 4. S. Evers, T. Yim and L. F. Nazar, J. Phys. Chem. C, 116, 19653 (2012). 5. Q. Pang, D. Kundu, M. Cuisinier and L. F. Nazar, Nat. Commun., 5, 4759 (2014). 6. X. Liang, C. Hart, Q. Pang, A. Garsuch, T. Weiss and L. F. Nazar, Nat. Commun., 6, 5682 (2015).