MoO2/Mo2c Hybrid Nanowires As High Performance Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

Molybdenum oxides, mainly including MoO3 and MoO2, are attractive materials with potential applications in catalysis, sensors and energy storage. Owing to the good electronic conductivity, high stability and density, MoO2 was proposed as a host material for lithium ions. However, the application of MoO2 as anode material for lithium ion batteries was limited in the early research, due to the low capacity and poor cycling stability resulting from the bulky dimensions, the consequential slow kinetics and huge volume changes during the charge/discharge process. To improve the performance of MoO2, a most promising way is to design and construct nanostructured composites [1-3]. Here we report on MoO2/Mo2C hybrid nanowires synthesized through simple calcination using MoOx/amine nanowires as a precursor. The small diameters of the nanowires ensure fast lithium ion insertion and extraction, while the long dimensions benefit good electron transport between wires. Besides, Mo2C with a high specific conductance distinctly increases the structural stability and electronic conductivity of the hybrid nanowires. As a result, the cycling and rate performance of the hybrid nanowires is remarkably enhanced. At a current density of 1000 mA/g, a discharge capacity of ~700 mAh/g is still retained after 300 cycles, which indicates the MoO2/Mo2C hybrid nanowires a promising anode material for high performance lithium ion batteries. Acknowledgements This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51402110, and 51231003). [1] Q.S. Gao, L. C. Yang, X. C. Lu, J. J. Mao, Y. H. Zhang, Y. P. Wu, Y. Tang, J. Mater. Chem., 2010, 20, 2807. [2] L.C. Yang, L. L. Liu, Y. S. Zhu, X. J. Wang, Y. P. Wu, J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 13148. [3] H. J. Zhang, K. X. Wang, X. Y. Wu, Y. M. Jiang, Y. B. Zhai, C. Wang, X. Wei, J. S. Chen, Adv. Funct. Mater., 2014, 24, 3399.