ALD TiO2-Coated Flower-like MoS2 Nanosheets on Carbon Cloth as Sodium Ion Battery Anode with Enhanced Cycling Stability and Rate Capability.

We report the fabrication of 3D flower-like MoS2 nanosheets arrays on carbon cloth as a binder-free anode for sodium ion battery. Ultrathin and conformal TiO2 layers are used to modify the surface of MoS2 by atomic layer deposition. The electrochemical performance measurements demonstrate that the ALD TiO2 layer can improve the cycling stability and rate capability of MoS2. The MoS2 nanosheets with 0.5-nm TiO2 coating electrode show the highest initial discharge capacity of 1392 mA h g-1 at 200 mA g-1, which is increased by 53% compared with that of bare MoS2. After 150 cycles, the capacity retention rate of the TiO2-coated MoS2 achieves 75.8% of its second cycle's capacity at 200 mA h g-1 in contrast to that of 59% of pure MoS2. Furthermore, the mechanism behind the experimental results is revealed by ex situ scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) characterizations, which confirms that the ultrathin TiO2 modifications can prevent the structural degradation and the formation of SEI film of MoS2 electrode.