Self-Assembled Few-Layered MoS2 on SnO2 Anode for Enhancing Lithium-Ion Storage.

SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) have been used as reversible high-capacity anode materials in lithium-ion batteries, with reversible capacities reaching 740 mAh·g-1. However, large SnO2 NPs do not perform well in charge-discharge cycling. In this work, we report the incorporation of MoS2 nanosheet (NS) layers with SnO2 NPs. SnO2 NPs of ~5 nm in diameter synthesized by a facile hydrothermal precipitation method. Meanwhile, MoS2 NSs of a few hundreds of nanometers to a few micrometers in lateral size were produced by top-down chemical exfoliation. The self-assembly of the MoS2 NS layer on the gas-liquid interface was first demonstrated to achieve up to 80% coverage of the SnO2 NP anode surface. The electrochemical properties of the pure SnO2 NPs and MoS2-covered SnO2 NP anodes were investigated. The results showed that the SnO2 electrode with a single-layer MoS2 NS film exhibited better electrochemical performance than the pure SnO2 anode in lithium storage applications.