Preparation of carbon coated MoO ₂ nanobelts and their high performance as anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Carbon coated MoO ₂ nanobelts were successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method followed by calcination under inert atmosphere, using α-MoO ₃ nanobelts as the precursor and self-template, ethanol as the reducer and glucose as the carbon source. Under the protection of polysaccharide resulting from glucose polycondensation, the 1-D morphology can be well retained during the reduction and carbonization processes. Tested as anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the carbon coated MoO ₂ nanobelts exhibit a reversible capacity of 769.3 mA h g ^-1 at a current density of 100 mA g ^-1 in the first cycle, and retain 80.2% of the capacity after 30 cycles. When the current density increases, this material shows high rate capability and good cycling performance.