Promotion of reversible Lisup+/sup storage in transition metal dichalcogenides by Ag nanoclusters

摘要

A high-capacity alternative to graphite electrodes commonly used in lithium-ion batteries has been made by scientists in Singapore and China. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has a two-dimensional layered structure resembling graphite, but with a significantly higher affinity for lithium ions. When combined with graphene, a conductive sheet-on-sheet material is formed which maintains a high capacity over many charge–discharge cycles. Jim Yang Lee and colleagues now report a way that uses silver nanoparticles to raise the lithium-ion storage of MoS2/graphene oxide electrodes even higher, by over 60%. The team employed a simple and scalable carbon monoxide reduction reaction to insert uniform layers of sub-2-nanometre silver spheres between the MoS2 and graphene sheets. The expansion in interlayer distance and the improved sulphur immobilization and lithium-ion association are likely causes for the jump in storage capacity.