Rechargeable aluminum-ion battery with sheet-like MoSe2@C nanocomposites cathode

Rechargeable aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs), with high capacity, low cost and high security, are expected to be the next-generation energy storage devices. In this research, a sheet nanocomposite material MoSe2@C as positive electrode of AIBs is successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method and following annealing treatment. In particular, the aluminum storage mechanism of MoSe2@C is studied by ex-situ XRD and XPS in detail. Specifically, capacity degradation is caused by irreversible MoSe2 phase change. Interestingly, no typical aluminum dendrites are produced on cycled aluminum sheet, and MoSe2 layer-structure is retained after 1000 cycles for its outer carbon protection. This AIBs delivers a high first discharge capacity of 294.97 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and remains 110.3 mAh g−1 after 3000 cycles. The meaningful results represent a good potential application of MoSe2@C in AIBs.