The first part of the talk discusses the effect of coating manganese oxide, Mn3O4, anode active material with a rapid (1 min) one-step assembly of a metal-phenolic network (MPN) for its enhancement of electrochemical performance as an LIB anode. Here, a Fe(III)-tannic acid (TA) MPN coating is used which enables progressive electrolyte infiltration and faster lithium-ion diffusion, while simultaneously protecting the anode surface and suppressing uncontrolled SEI growth. Together, these effects increase capacity retention and stabilise the Mn3O4 anode during cycling, improving both rate performance and long-term stability. The second part of the talk focuses on coating a cathode active material (LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NMC)) with the Fe(III)-tannic acid (TA) MPN coating. In full-coin cell format, the modified cathode exhibited a 10% increase in capacity and a 54% increase in lifespan for constant current cycling. In addition to a 5% increase in capacity and a 25% increase in lifespan for constant current-constant voltage (CCCV) cycling. Moving further, various metal chelating ions (TA-Ni(II), TA-Zn(II), TA-Mn(III), TA-Ti(IV) and TA-Zr(IV) coatings were employed on a different active cathode material, namely, lithium iron phosphate (LFP). By changing the metal ion the ion transport properties (liquid and interfacial mass transport) were affected within the MPN. Observed variations in interfacial transport consequently led to changes in the liquid transport kinetics with TA-Ti(IV) and TA-Zr(IV) coatings showing the greatest increase in rate capability at high mass loadings. This work paves the way for improving anode and cathode materials’ performance via eco-friendly lithium-ion attraction strategies.