Hexagonal Carbon Nanoplates Decorated with Layer-Engineered MoS₂: High-Performance Cathode Materials for Zinc-Ion Batteries

Hexagonal carbon nanoplates bearing MoS 2 (HCN@MoS 2 ) were synthesized using two-dimensional (2D) microporous organic polymers as templating materials. The layer number of MoS 2 in HCN@MoS 2 and the 2D morphology of composites were critical factors to achieve high-performance cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries. The best cathode performance was obtained with HCN@MoS 2 bearing 2–3 layered MoS 2 (HCN@MoS 2 -2), showing excellent discharge capacities of 602 mAh/g (@50 mA/g), 498 mAh/g (@0.1 A/g), and 328 mAh/g (@1 A/g). The promising electrochemical performance of HCN@MoS 2 -2 is attributable to the facilitated insertion of zinc ions into 2–3 layered MoS 2 due to the reduced lattice energy and the efficient electrochemical utilization of composite materials.