Boosting the lithium storage performance of MoS2 with graphene quantum dots

Abstract

MoS₂ has been nano-engineered with graphene quantum dots (GQDs) via a solvothermal treatment process to boost its electrochemical lithium storage properties. The doping with GQDs simultaneously endows MoS₂ with structural and compositional advantages for high-performance lithium storage, including expanded interlayer distances between layers, fast electrochemical kinetics, and additional stability to buffer the volume variation. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, GQDs/MoS₂ delivers high capacity, improved cyclic performance and excellent rate capability. The composition dependent lithium storage performance has also been revealed for GQDs/MoS₂. More importantly, the present nanoengineering could be used to boost the properties of other two-dimensional nanostructures for applications in energy storage and transit, catalysis, sensors and others.