Coral reef-like MoS2 microspheres with 1T/2H phase as high-performance anode material for sodium ion batteries

Coral reef-like MoS2 microspheres (MoS2-MS) with 1T/2H phase is synthesized by a simple one-step hydrothermal method. It is found that this material has disordered structure, rich defects and large interlayer spacing. As it is used as the anode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs), a stable specific capacity of 467 mA h g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 100 cycles is delivered. Moreover, after 500-cycle test at 1 A g−1, a highly stable specific capacity is still maintained at 412 mA h g−1. In addition, even at a high current density of 20 A g−1, the MoS2-MS electrode delivers a specific capacity of 100 mA h g−1. It is considered that the 1T/2H phase MoS2-MS with a disordered structure can effectively enhance the electrical conductivity for the rate performance improvement, and furthermore, the rich defects provide more active sites for Na+ storage and the large interlayer spacing allows the rapid diffusion of the Na+ ions.