Polystyrene-templated aerosol synthesis of MoS₂-amorphous carbon composite with open macropores as battery electrode

MoS₂-amorphous carbon (MoS₂-AC) composite microspheres with macroporous structure were fabricated by one-pot spray pyrolysis. Single- or few-layered MoS₂ were uniformly dispersed and oriented in random directions in the amorphous carbon microsphere with macropores sizes between 50 and 90 nm. The macroporous microspheres having a high contact area with liquid electrolyte exhibited overall superior Li- and Na-ion storage properties compared with those of the dense microspheres. After 250 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 1.5 Ag^-1, the discharge capacities of the MoS₂-AC microspheres with dense and macroporous structures for Li-ion storage were 694 and 896 mAhg^-1, respectively. In the case of Naion storage, discharge capacities of 336 and 425 mAhg^-1 were achieved for the dense and macroporous microspheres, respectively, after 100 cycles at 0.3 Ag^-1.