NiS1.03@NiMoS4 nanocrystals encapsulated into the mesoporous carbon microspheres for high performance lithium ion batteries

Transition metal sulfides are a kind of promising anode materials for lithium batteries. However, the poor electrochemical performance originated from serious volume expansion and sluggish Li+ transport inhibit their applications. In this work, NiS1.03@NiMoS4 nanocrystals encapsulated into the mesoporous carbon microspheres (NiS1.03@NiMoS4@C) are designed and synthesized through a facile hydrothermal and subsequent calcination strategy. The NiS1.03@NiMoS4@C hybrid is proven to display high reversible capacity (632 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g-1), and better long-term cycle stability (435 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 2000 mA g-1) when evaluated as anode for lithium ion batteries. The excellent performance is attributed to the special architecture that accommodates the volume change and facilitates the Li+ transport. The present work is expected to stimulate the development of transition metal sulfides@C materials for high performance lithium ion batteries.