Hollow nanospheres constructed by ultrafine few-layered MoS2 partially with amorphous fragments homogeneously incorporated in N-doped amorphous carbon for enhanced lithium storage performance.

The rational design of ultrathin and few-layered structures for three-dimensional MoS2 nanospheres is crucial for achieving attractive lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, hollow nanospheres constructed by ultrafine and few-layered MoS2 homogeneously incorporated in N-doped amorphous carbon (HUF-MoS2/NC) have been successfully synthesized as high-performance anode for LIBs. Using Mo-glycerol spheres as templates and dopamine hydrochloride as coordination ligands, hollow Mo-glycerol-polydopamine precursors are formed with Mo-containing groups which are surrounded by organic carbon species. Consequently, the MoS2 is confined to the nanoscale and grows partially amorphous fragments while being uniformly embedded in NC. This unique architecture can not only hinder the substantial restacking between MoS2 interlayers, offering more active sites, but also vastly enhance the electrical conductivity and relieve the mechanical stress ascribed to volume changes. As a result, the HUF-MoS2/NC composite anode exhibits excellent cyclic stability (980mAhg-1 after 300 cycles at 0.2Ag-1) and superior rate performance (498mAhg-1 at 5.0Ag-1) for LIBs.