From Dispersed Microspheres to Interconnected Nanospheres: Carbon-Sandwiched Monolayered MoS₂ as High-Performance Anode of Li-Ion Batteries

Hierarchical structured carbon@MoS2 (C@MoS2) microspheres and nanospheres composed of carbon-sandwiched monolayered MoS2 building blocks are synthesized through a facile one-pot polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) micelle-assisted hydrothermal route. The dimension and carbon content of C@MoS2 spheres are effectively controlled by singly adjusting the concentration of PVP, which plays the dual functions of soft-template and carbon source. As the anode materials of Li-ion batteries, C@MoS2 nanospheres present considerably higher capacity, better rate behavior and cycling stability than C@MoS2 microspheres. The reasons are attributed to the unique interconnected nanospherical morphology and the internal hierarchical construction of C@MoS2 nanospheres with expanded MoS2/carbon interlayer spacing.