Humate-assisted Synthesis of MoS(2)/C Nanocomposites via Co-Precipitation/Calcination Route for High Performance Lithium Ion Batteries

A facile, cost-effective, non-toxic, and surfactant-free route has been developed to synthesize MoS(2)/carbon (MoS(2)/C) nanocomposites. Potassium humate consists of a wide variety of oxygen-containing functional groups, which is considered as promising candidates for functionalization of graphene. Using potassium humate as carbon source, two-dimensional MoS(2)/C nanosheets with irregular shape were synthesized via a stabilized co-precipitation/calcination process. Electrochemical performance of the samples as an anode of lithium ion battery was measured, demonstrating that the MoS(2)/C nanocomposite calcinated at 700 °C (MoS(2)/C-700) electrode showed outstanding performance with a high discharge capacity of 554.9 mAh g(− 1) at a current density of 100 mA g(− 1) and the Coulomb efficiency of the sample maintained a high level of approximately 100% after the first 3 cycles. Simultaneously, the MoS(2)/C-700 electrode exhibited good cycling stability and rate performance. The success in synthesizing MoS(2)/C nanocomposites via co-precipitation/calcination route may pave a new way to realize promising anode materials for high-performance lithium ion batteries. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s11671-018-2537-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.