Formation of hollow MoS₂/carbon microspheres for high capacity and high rate reversible alkali-ion storage

Nanocomposites of carbon and molybdenum disulfide have attracted much attention due to their significant potential in energy conversion and storage applications. However, the preparation of these 0-D MoS₂/carbon composites with controllable structures and desirable properties remains a major manufacturing challenge, particularly at low cost suitable for scaling-up. Here, we report a facile solution-based method to prepare porous hierarchical 0-D MoS₂/carbon nanocomposites with vertical MoS₂ growth on a hollow carbon support, suitable for the electrochemical storage of lithium and sodium ions. The vertically aligned MoS₂/hollow carbon material shows excellent performance in the storage of a series of alkali-metal ions (e.g. Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺) with high capacity, excellent rate capacity, and stable cyclability. When used for the storage of Li⁺ ions, it possesses a high capacity of over 800 mA h g^-1 at a rate of 100 mA g^-1, with a negligibly small capacity decay as low as 0.019% per cycle. At a substantially higher rate of 5 A g^-1, this MoS₂/carbon nanocomposite still delivers a capacity of over 540 mA h g^-1, showing its excellent performance at high rates. Remarkably, this material uniquely delivers high capacities of over 450 mA h g^-1 and 300 mA h g^-1 for Na⁺ and K⁺ ion storage, respectively, which are among the highest values reported to date in the literature. These excellent characteristics confirm the hollow MoS₂/carbon nanocomposites to be a primary contender for next generation secondary batteries.