Hydrothermal Synthesis of Molybdenum Disulfide for Lithium Ion Battery Applications

Molybdenum disulfide nanoflakes were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process using sodium molybdate and thiourea as reactants at a relatively low temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that the samples have the structure of 2H-MoS2 and the morphology of nanoflakes with the average thickness around 5–10 nm. The results of electrochemical properties indicate that the morphology and size of MoS2 particles have effects on their capacity when they are used as the anode for lithium ion battery. The as-prepared MoS2 samples have high reversible discharge capacity up to 994.6 mA·h·g−1 for the MoS2-1 electrode and 930.1 mA·h·g−1 for the MoS2-2 electrode and show excellent cycling performances. The MoS2-1 electrode has a better cycling stability than the MoS2-2 electrode due to their difference in the uniformity of the samples.