Nitrogen plasma-induced phase engineering and titanium carbide/carbon nanotubes dual conductive skeletons endow...

MoS₂/Ti₃C₂ MXene composite has emerged as a promising anode material for lithium storage due to the synergistic combination of high specific capacity offered by MoS₂ and conductive skeleton provided by Ti₃C₂ MXene. However, its two-dimensional/two-dimensional (2D/2D) structure is susceptible to collapse after long cycles, while the inherent low conductivity of MoS₂ limits its rate performance. In this study, we developed a novel approach combining plasma-induced phase engineering with dual skeleton structure design to fabricate a unique P-MoS₂/Ti₃C₂/CNTs anode material featuring highly conductive 1T phase MoS₂ and a stable one-dimensional/two-dimensional (1D/2D) architecture. Within this architecture, growth of MoS₂ nanosheets on the surface of Ti₃C₂ cross-linked by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was achieved. The resulting Ti₃C₂/CNTs dual skeleton not only provides robust mechanical support to prevent structural collapse during long cycles but also offers increased specific surface area and additional Li⁺ storage space, thereby enhancing the lithium storage capacity of the composite. Subsequent N₂ plasma treatment induced a phase transition in MoS₂ from 2H to 1T configuration. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that the induced 1T-MoS₂ exhibits higher conductivity and lower Li⁺ diffusion barrier compared to 2H-MoS₂. Benefiting from these synergistic effects, our P-MoS₂/Ti₃C₂/CNTs anode demonstrated remarkable electrochemical performance including a high reversible specific capacity of 1120 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1, excellent cycling stability with a specific capacity retention of 670 mAh g^-1 after 600 cycles at 1 A/g, and superior rate performance with a specific capacity of 614 mAh g^-1 at 2 A g^-1. This combined modification strategy will serve as guidance for designing other energy storage materials.