Carbon and few-layer MoS2 nanosheets co-modified TiO2 nanosheets with enhanced electrochemical properties for lithium storage

Abstract

Carbon and few-layer MoS2 nanosheets co-modified TiO2 nanocomposites (defined as MoS2-C@TiO2) were prepared through a facile one-step pyrolysis reaction technique. In this unique nanostructure, the TiO2 nanosheets with stable structure serve as the backbones, and carbon coating and few-layer MoS2 tightly adhere onto the surface of the TiO2. It needs to be pointed out that the carbon coating improves the overall electronic conductivity and the few-layer MoS2 facilitates the diffusion of lithium ions and offers more active sites for lithium-ion storage. As a result, when evaluated as lithium-ion battery anodes, the MoS2-C@TiO2 nanocomposites exhibit markedly enhanced lithium storage capability compared with pure TiO2. A high specific capacity of 180 mA·h·g−1 has been achieved during the preliminary cycles, and the specific capacity can maintain 160 mA·h·g−1 at a high current density of 1C (1C=167 mA·g−1) even after 300 discharge/charge cycles, indicating the great potential of the MoS2-C@TiO2 on energy storage.