Abstract
Metal sulfides are promising anode materials for high-performance sodium-ion batteries. However, their drastic volume variation and poor electrical conductivity during cycling result in poor performance, which is a major challenge. In this study, we report the facile and generalized aerosol-assisted synthesis of metal sulfide/C composite microspheres with cubic nanorooms (MeS x /C-NR) by employing NaCl as a washable template. We investigated the optimization method for synthesizing this novel nanostructure by controlling the synthesis conditions. In the case of MoS 2 /C-NR, which was selected as the main target material, few-layered MoS 2 nanosheets were successfully formed, and their restacking during cycling was prevented via incorporation with a dextrin-derived carbon matrix. Meso-/macropores generated by NaCl increased the affinity of MoS 2 /C-NR to the electrolyte, increasing the active surface area for electrochemical reaction and reducing the diffusion length of Na + without compromising the structural robustness. As a result, the MoS 2 /C-NR delivered a stable reversible capacity of 385 mA h g -1 for 350 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g -1 and a high rate performance of 287 mA h g -1 at a current density of 7 A g -1 . This synthesis strategy can be utilized to prepare other porous metal sulfide/carbon composites, including FeS 2 /C-NR and SnS/C-NR, without much difficulty, which may be valuable for many other applications, including energy storage.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2636-2645 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Materials Chemistry A |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2017R1D1A1B03034473 and NRF-2017R1A4A1014806).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- General Materials Science