Novel bismuth oxide/sodium bismuth molybdate nanocomposites (NCs), Bi2O3@NaBi(MoO4)2, were developed successfully via simple methods. Advanced analyses revealed that the NCs were composed of Bi2O3 and NaBi(MoO4)2 particles at the nanoscale, below 10 nm, in a combination of amorphous and crystalline forms. In this work, these NCs were utilized as lithium-ion battery anode materials for the first time, demonstrating exceptional electrochemical performances, including high capacity, superior capacity retention, high coulombic efficiency, excellent rate capacity, and pseudo-capacitance behavior. For instance, Bi2O3@NaBi(MoO4)2 NCs prepared at 1 h and 3 h of reaction time delivered a reversible charge capacity of 1052 and 1034 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at current densities of 0.1 A g−1 with a capacity retention of 110 and 129 %, respectively. Notably, all the NCs anodes exhibited an excellent initial coulombic efficiency of above 80 %. Materials characterizations and electrochemical analysis revealed that the improved electrochemical properties of the NCs were attributed to their unique architectures, which featured nanostructures, molybdate components, and a small amount of amorphous phase. In addition, the significant capacity increase could be due to the electrochemical milling effect, the in situ formation of metallic particles, and the role of Mo metal in the NCs anodes as the catalysts for Li2O decomposition during cycling. It concluded that Bi2O3@NaBi(MoO4)2 NCs have great potential as advanced anodes for Li-ion storages.
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