Free-standing molybdenum disulfides on porous carbon cloth for lithium-ion battery anodes

In this study, a free-standing MoS₂ nanofilm on a porous carbon cloth (MoS₂@PCC) was prepared for application as an anode in Li-ion batteries. Uniform, non-aggregated MoS₂@PCC electrodes were synthesized via facile electric-wire-explosion, dip-coating, and thermal sulfidation processes. The phase and morphologies were controlled using a variety of explosion media that had different carbon contents. The dip-coating of PCC into a colloidal solution prepared by underwater explosion of Mo metallic wire and the thermal sulfidation process provided higher uniformity of MoS₂ nanoparticles with no particle aggregation. This facilitated the charge transfer and accommodation of volume expansion of Li-active MoS₂ upon cycling. Consequently, the free-standing MoS₂@PCC electrodes exhibited enhanced lithium reactivity, high rate capability, and cycle durability, compared with the conventional MoS₂ nanoparticle electrode.