Micronano Porous Mo2C@C Nanorods Composites as Robust Anodes for Li-ion Battery

Micronano porous Mo 2 C@C nanorods (NRs) composite anodes are successfully synthesized using the raw materials of MoO 3 NRs, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer, and inactive sodium chloride (NaCl) microparticles. The abundant and soluble NaCl microparticles act as the sacrificial templates, which increase the surface contact area between the MoO 3 NRs and the PAN polymer, thus promoting the thorough formation of Mo 2 C electrodes during the carbonization process. The optimized Mo 2 C@C-template (MCC-T) NR composite electrodes deliver an enhanced electrochemical performance, which is ascribed to the enlarged surface area, reduced path distance of lithium ions, and structural stability. In addition, the Li-ion storage mechanism and the electrochemical kinetics of Mo 2 C@C NR composite anodes are also systemically and experimentally investigated by ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. This synthetic strategy for MCC-T NR composite anodes is helpful to design other nanostructured carbide anodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).