Flower-like MoSe2@N-doped carbon sub-nanoclusters regulated by MoO3 hexagonal prism as advanced anode for lithium-ion battery

Carbon-coated transition metal dihalide composite materials have shown favorable performance for lithium ion batteries. Herein, 3D flower-like MoSe2@N-doped carbon sub-nanocluster (MoSe2@NC SNCs) with uniform size similar to 500 nm was successfully synthesized using the pre-made MoO3 hexagonal prisms as the regulator, Se powder and PDA as raw materials through a simple self-assembly method followed by annealing treatment. The as-synthesized MoSe2@NC SNCs composite was characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM and TEM analyses. When fabricated into coin-cells with the counter of Li metal, the MoSe2@NC SNCs anode exhibited enhanced Li storage properties compared to the larger MoSe2 @NC MPs electrode without MoO3 regulator, including better rate performance of 480 mA h/g at current density of 4.0 Aug and cycling stability of 501 mA h/g after 320 cycles at high current density of 2.0 Aug. Therefore, the MoSe2@NC SNCs composite may be one of the promising anode candidate materials for constructing LIBs. Furthermore, the strategy of controlling the size of MoSe2@N-doped carbon by adding its pre-treated transition metal oxides may also guide the controllable synthesis of other similar electrode materials. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

In this study, 3D flower-like MoSe2@N-doped carbon sub-nanoclusters (MoSe2@NC SNCs) were successfully synthesized and showed enhanced Li storage properties, making them a promising candidate material for lithium ion batteries. The strategy of controlling the size of MoSe2@N-doped carbon with pre-treated transition metal oxides could also guide the controllable synthesis of other similar electrode materials.