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).