Sulfur-doped amorphous NiMoO4 on crystalline Fe2O3 nanorods for enhanced lithium storage performance

Abstract

In this work, we design and synthesize amorphous S-doped NiMoO₄ on Fe₂O₃@C nanorods (Fe₂O₃@NiMoO₄-S) as the anode for high performance lithium-ion batteries. The as-prepared Fe₂O₃@NiMoO₄-S exhibits high reversible capacity (1001 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at a rate of 0.1 A g⁻¹), excellent cycle performance and superior rate capacity (766 mA h g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles at a high current density of 10 A g⁻¹). This excellent performance is attributed to the unique structural features: the amorphous structure can shorten the lithium ion diffusion path, buffer the volume expansion, and maintain the structural integrity during the Li⁺ insertion/extraction process. The carbon layer and sulfur doping are able to improve the conductivity. Moreover, the amorphous nature with oxygen vacancies makes it favorable for lithium ion transport.