MoO3 nanoplates: a high-capacity and long-life anode material for sodium-ion batteries

MoO3 has become a very promising energy storage material owing to its high theoretical capacity and layered structure. However, MoO3 suffers from low specific capacitance and fast degradation performance due to pulverization caused by volume change during discharge and charge process. Here, we report the MoO3 nanoplates (MoO3 NPs) from Mo-based metal–organic frameworks (Mo-MOFs) via a facile heating treatment. When used as an anode in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), the material showed 154 mAh g−1 superior discharge capacity at 50 mA g−1 after 1200 cycles. Even at 500 mA g−1, it also showed 217 mAh g−1 high specific capacity after 500 cycles. This specific MoO3 material design strategy offers suitable conditions for relieving the volume expansion and provides multiple channels for Na+ transport and electron transfer in MoO3 during discharge and charge process. This work highlights the importance of MoO3 nanoplates in preventing the pulverization caused by volume expansion in SIBs.