Heterogeneous engineering of MnSe@NC@ReS₂ core–shell nanowires for advanced sodium-/potassium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) have been attracting great attentions and widely been exploited due to the abundant sodium/potassium resources. Hence, the preparation of high-powered anode materials for SIBs/PIBs plays a decisive role for the commercial applications of SIBs/PIBs in the future. Manganese selenides are a class of potential anode materials for SIBs/PIBs because of their small band gap and high electrical conductivity. In this work, MnSe and ReS₂ core–shell nanowires connecting by polydopamine derived carbon nanotube (MnSe@NC@ReS₂) have been successfully synthesized from growing ReS₂ nanosheets array on the surface of MnSe@NC nanowires, which present excellent Na⁺/K⁺ storage performance. While applied as SIBs anode, the specific capacity of 300 mAh·g⁻¹ was maintained after 400 cycles at the current density of 1.0 A·g⁻¹. Besides, it could also keep 120 mAh·g⁻¹ specific capacity after 900 cycles at 1.0 A·g⁻¹ for the anode of PIBs. These heterogeneous engineering and one-dimensional–two-dimensional (1D-2D) hybrid strategies could provide an ideal strategy for the synthesis of new hetero-structured anode materials with outstanding battery performance for SIBs and PIBs. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.)