Facile synthesis of nanoflower-like MoS₂/C as anode for lithium-ion batteries

MoS₂ nanosheets consist of multiple S-Mo-S trilayers with large interlayer spacing, which could allow facile Li-ion insertion/extraction. However, MoS₂ nanosheets are easily curled and randomly stacked due to high surface energy of 2D nanosheets, which hinders fast ion transportation. In addition, intrinsic electronic conductivity of MoS₂ is limited. Therefore, enhancements of both ionic and electronic conductivity of MoS₂ are greatly demanded for its application in Li-ion batteries. Here, we report a cost-effective and facile hydrothermal synthesis of 3D nanoflower-like MoS₂/C anode materials, which avoids random stacking of nanosheets and improves the electronic conductivity of MoS₂. The nanoflower-like MoS₂/C exhibits large reversible specific capacity (724 mAh g⁻¹) and high initial coulombic efficiency (79.82%). Moreover, excellent capacity retention (97.98%) after 500-cycle charge/discharge has been achieved at 1 A g⁻¹.