MoS2 nanosheet arrays in situ grown on hollow MXene sphere as an advanced anode material for sodium-ion batteries

To acquire an advanced anode material for sodium-ion batteries, in this study, the MoS2 nanosheet arrays are successfully in situ grown on hollow MXene sphere by hydrothermal method and subsequent heat treatment. The stacking of MXene is greatly limited by coating MXene on polystyrene (PS) sphere template. Further, MoS2 nanosheets are in situ grown on the MXene spheres through hydrothermal route, and the 3D hollow spherical MoS2@MXene material are obtained after heat treatment. The density functional theory calculations demonstrate that MoS2@MXene composite exhibits lower Na+ adsorption energy and smaller bandgap than pure MoS2. The resulting 3D hollow spherical MoS2@MXene material shows excellent cyclability and rate performance as an anode of the sodium-ion batteries, in which the specific capacities reach 354.8 mAh g(-1) after 1000 cycles at the current density of 1 A g(-1) (retention of 93.4 %), and 261.2 mAh g(-1) even at a high current density of 5 A g(-1). The high performance is attributed to the mitigation of self-aggregation of MoS2 nanosheets and the high electronic conductivity and fast transfer rate of sodium ions in the MoS2@MXene composite.