Microwave-assisted synthesis of 1T MoS2/Cu nanowires with enhanced capacity and stability as anode for LIBs

Abstract 1T MoS2 has recently attracted growing interests for energy storage due to the excellent conductivity, expanded layer space and extra exposed active sites. However, its application is still limited due to the complicated synthesis under harsh condition and poor structural stability. Herein, we report a novel MoS2/Cu nanowires (NWs) by microwave-assisted self-assembly of ultrathin 1T MoS2 onto Cu NWs with interconnected conductive network and robust one-dimensional (1D) structure. As anode material for LIBs, 1T MoS2/Cu NWs exhibits high capacity and stability owning to the enhanced electron transport and lithium ions intercalation. Meanwhile, the enriched nanovoids supply extended space for buffering the volume change and boosting electrolyte penetration during cycling process. Moreover, Cu doped MoS2 could also stabilize the 1T phase, leading to the excellent anode durability. It delivers a high reversible capacity of 570.6 mAh g−1 after 250 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g−1. Enhanced rate performance is also achieved with excellent capacity retention of 914.6 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 465.2 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1, respectively.