In situ catalytic growth of large-area multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures

Stacking various two-dimensional atomic crystals on top of each other is a feasible approach to create unique multilayered heterostructures with desired properties. Herein for the first time, we present a controlled preparation of large-area graphene/MoS2 heterostructures via a simple heating procedure on Mo-oleate complex coated sodium sulfate under N-2 atmosphere. Through a direct in situ catalytic reaction, graphene layer has been uniformly grown on the MoS2 film formed by the reaction of Mo species with S pecies, which is from the carbothermal reduction of sodium sulfate. Due to the excellent graphene painting'' on MoS2 atomic layers, the significantly shortened lithium ion diffusion distance and the markedly enhanced electronic conductivity, these multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures exhibit high specific capacity, unprecedented rate performance and outstanding cycling stability, especially at a high current density, when used as an anode material for lithium batteries. This work provides a simple but efficient route for the controlled fabrication of large-area multilayered graphene/metal sulfide heterostructures with promising applications in battery manufacture, electronics or catalysis.