Molten Salt-Assisted Catalytic Preparation of MoS2/α-MoO3/Graphene as High-Performance Anode of Li-Ion Battery

We report on the facile and scalable catalytic conversion of natural graphite and MoS2 minerals into α-MoO3 nanoribbons incorporated into hexagonal MoS2 and graphene nanosheets, and evaluate the structural, morphological and electrochemical performances of the hybrid nanostructured material obtained. Mechanochemical treatment of raw materials, followed by catalytic molten salt treatment leads to the formation of nanostructures with promising electrochemical performances. We examined the effect of processing temperature on the electrochemical performance of the products. At 1100 °C, an excellent Li-ion storage capacity of 773.5 mAh g−1 is obtained after 180 cycles, considerably greater than that of MoS2 (176.8 mAh g−1). The enhanced capacity and the rate performance of this electrode are attributed to the well-integrated components, characterized by the formation of interfacial molybdenum oxycarbide layer during the synthesis process, contributing to the reduced electrical/electrochemical resistance of the sample. This unique morphology promotes the charge and ions transfer through the reduction of the Li-ion diffusion coefficient (1.2 × 10−18 cm2 s−1), enhancing the pseudocapacitive performance of the electrode; 59.3% at the scan rate of 0.5 mV s−1. This article provides a green and low-cost route to convert highly available natural graphite and MoS2 minerals into nanostructured hybrid materials with promising Li-ion storage performance.