Petal-like MoS₂ Nanosheets Space-Confined in Hollow Mesoporous Carbon Spheres for Enhanced Lithium Storage Performance

An innovative approach for efficient synthesis of petal-like molybdenum disulfide nanosheets inside hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (HMCSs), the yolk-shell structured MoS₂@C, has been developed. HMCSs effectively control and confine in situ growth of MoS₂ nanosheets and significantly improve the conductivity and structural stability of the hybrid material. The yolk-shell structured MoS₂@C is proven to achieve high reversible capacity (993 mA h g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ after 200 cycles), superior rate capability (595 mA h g⁻¹ at a current density of 10 A g⁻¹), and excellent cycle performance (962 mA h g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles and 624 mA h g⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹ after 400 cycles) when evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. This superior performance is attributed to the yolk-shell structure with conductive mesoporous carbon as the shell and the stack of two-dimensional MoS₂ nanosheets as the yolk.