Hierarchical Nanospheres Constructed by Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets Braced on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Polyhedra for Efficient Lithium and Sodium Storage.

MoS2 has attracted a lot of attention for electrochemical energy storage. Herein, we design and fabricate unusual hierarchical composite nanospheres by cultivating a MoS2 sheet-like nanostructure on nitrogen-doped carbon polyhedra (designated as CP@MoS2 nanospheres). The nitrogen-doped carbon polyhedra are able to significantly boost the electrical conductivity of the hybrid architecture and largely mitigate the agglomeration of the MoS2 nanostructure. The sheet-like MoS2 nanostructure can render a great deal of storage sites toward lithium and sodium. When measured as a negative electrode for Li storage, these CP@MoS2 nanospheres manifest a large charge capacity of approximately 549 mAh g-1, a superior cycle life of 900 cycles, and excellent rate property. Furthermore, they also demonstrate improved electrochemical activity for Na+ ion storage.