3D sponge-like coconut-meat carbon/molybdenum disulfide nanosheet composite as high-performance anodes for lithium-ion batteries

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is well recognized as a highly promising candidate material for the fabrication of electrodes due to its large interlayer spacing (0.62 nm) and considerably high theoretical capacity. However, its further development and application are severely impeded by its intrinsic volume expansion and poor conductivity. To address these limitations, this work reports the successful fabrication of a three-dimensional sponge-like structured MoS2/coconut-derived carbon (CMs/MoS2) composite, which was successfully prepared through a simplified hydrothermal and thermal treatment technique. The incorporation of biomass-derived carbon significantly enhanced the conductivity of the composite material, and the stacking problem of MoS2 nanosheets was effectively prevented by using it as a supporting matrix. Leveraging this unique structure, an outstanding performance was exhibited by the composite material when adopted as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. At a current density of 100 mA g-1, a remarkable initial reversible discharge specific capacity of 1221.4 mAh g-1 was achieved by the CMs/MoS2 composite, and this capacity was retained at 914.4 mAh g-1 following the completion of 30 cycles. A sustainable capacity of 720.1 mAh g-1 was demonstrated by the CMs/MoS2 composite material following 200 cycles, even with an increment in the current density up to 200 mA g-1, which was significantly high in relation to the capacities of MoS2 (157 mAh g-1) and biomass-derived carbon (251 mAh g-1).