Heterojunction engineering and ether-based electrolyte boost In₂S₃/MoS₂ for high-efficient sodium storage

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Transition metal sulfides face challenges as anodes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to low conductivity and volume fluctuations.
• Effective anode materials are crucial for advancing SIB technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a composite material that overcomes the limitations of transition metal sulfides for SIB anodes.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of heterojunction engineering and carbon frameworks in enhancing sodium storage performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an In2S3/MoS2 heterostructure within three-dimensional N-doped carbon frameworks (In2S3/MoS2@NC) using chemical foaming and sulfuration.
• Electrochemical testing in a glyme-based electrolyte to evaluate sodium storage performance.
• Characterization of the material's structure and electrochemical properties.

Main Results:

• The In2S3/MoS2@NC composite demonstrated accelerated charge transfer and enhanced Na+ adsorption.
• The material exhibited superior high-rate performance (243.2 mAh g-1 at 10 A g-1) and long-term cycling stability (352.3 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1 after 1000 cycles).
• The composite showed promising performance in cryogenic conditions and maintained capacity after 2000 cycles at high rates.

Conclusions:

• The In2S3/MoS2@NC composite effectively addresses the poor sodium storage performance of transition metal sulfides.
• Heterojunction engineering and N-doped carbon frameworks provide a viable strategy for designing high-performance SIB anodes.
• The study highlights the potential of ether-based electrolytes and advanced anode materials for next-generation energy storage.