A novel carbon-decorated hollow flower-like MoS2 nanostructure wrapped with RGO for enhanced sodium-ion storage

Abstract

A novel composite nanomaterial that consisting of few-layer MoS2 modified by pyrolyzed conductive carbon was self-assembled into hollow flower-like nanostructures, and wrapped with the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) networks via a facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis route. This unique nanostructure of the sample possesses large specific surface area and expanded interlayer, which could provide more adsorption sites for Na+ and better buffer the volume change in Na+ insertion and deinsertion. Moreover, by incorporated with carbonaceous materials involving both amorphous carbon and RGO, the limited electrical conductivities and structural stability of MoS2 can be improved effectively, meanwhile the aggregation of 2D layer materials is also relieved, promoting the fluent transport of sodium ion and leading to greatly enhanced electrochemical performances. When evaluated as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries, the as-obtained electrode exhibits the highly reversible capacities (891 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1) and favorable cyclability (637 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 for 50 cycles). These results, combined with our experimental design strategy, provide an efficient approach to enhance the cycling property of MoS2 and congeneric 2D electrode materials.