Construction of reduced graphene oxide supported molybdenum carbides composite electrode as high-performance anode materials for lithium ion batteries

• Reduced graphene oxide supported molybdenum carbides are prepared by two-step strategy.
• A unique sheet-on-sheet integrated nanostructure is favorable for fast ion/electron transfer.
• The integrated electrode shows excellent Li ion storage performance.

Metal carbides are emerging as promising anodes for advanced lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Herein we report reduced graphene oxide (RGO) supported molybdenum carbides (Mo2C) integrated electrode by the combination of solution and carbothermal methods. In the designed integrated electrode, Mo2C nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed among graphene nanosheets, forming a unique sheet-on-sheet integrated nanostructure. As anode of LIBs, the as-prepared Mo2C-RGO integrated electrode exhibits noticeable electrochemical performances with a high reversible capacity of 850 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, and 456 mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1, respectively. Moreover, the Mo2C-RGO integrated electrode shows excellent cycling life with a capacity of ∼98.6 % at 1000 mA g−1 after 400 cycles. Our research may pave the way for construction of high-performance metal carbides anodes of LIBs.

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