Ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets tightly anchoring onto nitrogen-doped graphene for enhanced lithium storage properties

Rational design of advanced electrode materials is extremely important for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report a facile one-pot hydrothermal approach for formation of MoS 2 /nitrogen-doped graphene (MoS 2 /N-graphene) composite with excellent lithium storage properties as anode for LIBs. The controlled experiment results indicate that polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalizes not only as the nitrogen source for in-situ nitrogen doping, but also as a binder for inducing and regulating the uniform growth of MoS 2 nanosheets onto graphene. As a result, ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets are vertically grown onto the nitrogen-doped reduced oxide graphene (RGO), generating a distinct honeycomb-like hybrid structure. More significantly, the first principles theoretical calculations results manifest that there is a strong interaction at the interface of MoS 2 and nitrogen-doped graphene, thus boosting the charge transfer. The constructing MoS 2 /N-graphene architecture demonstrates the improved electrochemical performances for reversible lithium storage. It shows a high reversible capacity of 1025.1   mAh/g at a current density of 100   mA/g and the superior rate capability, which is mainly attributed to the pseudocapacitance contributions.