Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets Supported on N-doped Carbon Nanoboxes with Enhanced Lithium Storage and Electrocatalytic Properties

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2015-06, Vol.54 (25), p.7395-7398
• Main Authors: Yu, Xin-Yao, Hu, Han, Wang, Yawen, Chen, Hongyu, Lou, Xiong Wen (David)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon; Lithium; lithium-ion batteries; molybdenum disulfide; MoS2; water splitting
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201502117

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has received considerable interest for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. In this work, we have designed and synthesized a unique hybrid hollow structure by growing ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets on N‐doped carbon shells (denoted as C@MoS2 nanoboxes). The N‐doped carbon shells can greatly improve the conductivity of the hybrid structure and effectively prevent the aggregation of MoS2 nanosheets. The ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets could provide more active sites for electrochemical reactions. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium‐ion batteries, these C@MoS2 nanoboxes show high specific capacity of around 1000 mAh g−1, excellent cycling stability up to 200 cycles, and superior rate performance. Moreover, they also show enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution. Nanosheets‐on‐Box: A hybrid structure composed of thin MoS2 nanosheets supported on N‐doped carbon nanoboxes has been synthesized. Because of the structural advantages, these well‐defined C@MoS2 nanoboxes exhibit superior electrochemical performance as electrode materials for both lithium‐ion batteries and the hydrogen evolution reaction.