Facile One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Hierarchical MoS₂/α-MnS Nanocomposites with Good Cycling Performance as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The design of nanoscale composites with a hierarchical structure can improve the poor cycling performances of transition metal sulfides such as anode materials. The hierarchical MoS2/α-MnS nanocomposites were synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method in this study, aiming to improve the cycling performance. As an anode material, hierarchical MoS2/α-MnS nanocomposites deliver a high reversible capacity, of 1498 mAh g−1 at a current density of 50 mA g−1; a capacity of ~800 mAh g−1 is maintained over 100 cycles at 300 mA g−1, and a capacity of 907 mAh g−1 is obtained at 1200 mA g−1. Moreover, these capacities increase with the number of cycles, which is mainly owed to the occurring metallic nanoparticles that catalyze the developing polymeric film and enhance the conductivity of the active materials during the electrochemical reactions. The good cycling performances are attributed to the synergistic effects between MoS2 and α-MnS.

Keywords

• lithium-ion batteries
• α-MnS
• molybdenum disulfide
• capacity increase