Flower-like Mn/Co Glycerolate-Derived α-MnS/Co9S8/Carbon Heterostructures for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Transition-metal oxides/sulfides have been widely applied for energy storage because of their high-theoretical capacity and natural abundance with low prices, but they suffer from the volume change-induced pulverization problem during cycling. Herein, we present the successful fabrication of heterostructured alpha-MnS/Co9S8 with simultaneous carbon hybridization through the chemical vapor deposition method, using the pre-synthesized flower-like Mn/Co-glycerate by the solvothermal method as a Mn/Co source and the thiophene as a C/S source. When applied as a lithium storage anode, the alpha-MnS/Co9S8/C( )electrode displays satisfactory electrochemical performances, exhibiting a high reversible capacity of 608 mA h g(-1) at 500 mA g(-1) upon 300 cycles with 73% capacity retention and a high rate capacity of 422 mA h g(-1) at 1000 mA C-1 , which is much better than that for the Mn/Co-glycerate-derived MnCo2Ox counterpart. Benefiting from the stepwise lithium storage behaviors of alpha-MnS and Co9S8 and the carbon wrapping, the alpha-MnS/Co9S8 heterostructures effectively suppress the electrode pulverization, which finally contributes to the enhanced lithium storage performance.