One-step solid-phase synthesis of binder-free molybdenum disulfide/carbon fibers paper anode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Highlights: • A one-step solid-phase synthesis strategy is developed to fabricate MoS₂/CFP anode. • The MoS₂ and the carbon matrix of MoS₂/CFP composite were synthesized synchronously. • The MoS₂/CFP anode exhibits enhanced cycling performance and high-rate capability. • The mechanism of the enhanced electrochemical properties was discussed for MoS₂/CFP. A facile one-step solid-phase synthesis strategy is developed for synthesizing a binder-free molybdenum disulfide/carbon fibers paper (MoS₂/CFP) anode. The microstructure, composition, morphology and electrochemical performances were investigated. It is found that the thin MoS₂ layers are well anchored on the interlaced carbon fibers to form MoS₂/CFP, which has mesoporous structure and large specific surface area of ∼18.8 m²g^-1. As a result, the obtained MoS₂/CFP anode exhibits a reversible capacity of 261 mAh·g⁻¹ with 31.2% loading ratio of MoS₂. After subtracting the capacity of CFP, the MoS₂ in the composite anode delivers a reversible capacity of 539 mAh·g⁻¹ and shows better cycle stability than commercial MoS₂ after 100 cycles at 100 mA g⁻¹. The remarkable electrochemical performances could be attributed to the buffer space among carbon fibers for the volume changes of MoS₂ as well as the highly conductive carbon fibers network, suggesting that the MoS₂/CFP is a promising binder-free anode for lithium-ion batteries.