Modification of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> electrode films in dye-sensitized solar cells with PMMA

Nanocrystalline porous TiO₂ electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) are modified by adding polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The result shows that large holes are formed in the TiO₂ films, and the short circuit photocurrent density and photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSCs are obviously enhanced compared with those without adding the PMMA. The relationship between the photoelectric conversion efficiency and the amount of PMMA is presented. In particular, the highest conversion efficiency was obtained with TiO₂ electrode films of adding 7.5 wt% PMMA, increasing the conversion efficiency by 27.5%.     

Interlaced polyaniline/carbon nanotube nanocomposite co-electrodeposited on TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanotubes/Ti for high-performance supercapacitors

A series of PANI-CNTs/TiO₂ nanotubes/Ti electrodes were fabricated via pulse current co-electrodeposition of polyaniline and functionalized carbon nanotubes onto TiO₂ nanotubes/Ti electrodes. FT-IR spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were applied in order to characterize the modified TiO₂ nanotubes/Ti electrodes. The morphology studies showed that the PANI-CNTs/TiO₂ nanotubes/Ti nanocomposite electrode has many interlaced PANI-CNTs nanorods on the surface of TiO₂ nanotubes. The electrochemical measurements of the modified electrodes confirmed that the CNTs in the composite can significantly improve the capacitive behavior as well which have been compared with that of PANI/TiO₂ nanotubes/Ti electrodes. The modified electrode exhibited much higher specific capacitance (190 mF cm^?2 with 90% retention after 1000 cycles) compared to the PANI/TiO₂ nanotubes/Ti (70 mF cm^?2 with 77% retention after 1000 cycles) at a current density of 0.85 mA cm^?2, indicating its great potential for supercapacitor applications.

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Graphical abstract Interlaced polyaniline/carbon nanotube nanocomposite electrodeposited on TiO₂ nanotubes/Ti

     

Hydrothermal synthesis of brookite TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles for dye-sensitized solar cell

We obtained Tannin-4-azobenzoic acid (azo dye) by the conventional method of diazotization and coupling of aromatic amines. The properties of the azo dye were characterized via ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis), infrared (IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin films were deposited by hydrothermal method onto fluorine-doped tin (IV) oxide (FTO)-coated glass substrate at 353 K for 4 h. The as-deposited and annealed films were characterized for structural, morphological, optical, thickness, and wettability properties. The synthesized metal free azo dye was used to sensitize the prepared TiO₂ thin film with thickness of 26 μm. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of TiO₂ sensitized with the azo dye was evaluated in polyiodide (0.1 M KI + 0.01 M I₂ + 0.1 M KCl) electrolyte at 40 mW cm^?2 illumination intensity. The cell yielded a short circuit current of 2.82 mA, open circuit voltage of 314.3 mV, a fill factor of 0.30, and a photovoltaic conversion efficiency value of 0.64%.

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Graphical abstract ?

     

Dielectric properties and I-V characteristics of (Pb<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films improved by TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> buffer layers

A TiO₂ thin buffer layer was introduced between the (Pb_0.4Sr_0.6)TiO₃ (PST) film and the Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate in an attempt to improve their electrical properties. Both TiO₂ and PST layers were prepared by a chemical solution deposition method. It was found that the TiO₂ buffer layer increased the (100)/(001) preferred orientation of PST and decreased the surface roughness of the films, leading to an enhancement in electrical properties including an increase in dielectric constant and in its tunability by DC voltage, as well as a decrease in dielectric loss and leakage current density. At an optimized thickness of the TiO₂ buffer layer deposited using 0.02 mol/l TiO₂ sol, the 330-nm-thick PST films had a dielectric constant, loss and tunability of 1126, 0.044 and 60.7% at 10 kHz, respectively, while the leakage current density was 1.95 × 10⁻⁶ A/cm² at 100 kV/cm.     

Synthesis and thermal decomposition of neodymium(III) peroxotitanate to Nd<Subscript>2</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>5</Subscript>

Neodymium(III) peroxotitanate is used as a precursor for obtaining Nd₂TiO₅. The last one possesses numerous valuable electrophysical properties. TiCl₄, Nd(NO₃)₃·6H₂O and H₂O₂ in mol ratio 1:2:10 were used as starting materials. The reaction ambience was alkalized to pH = 9 with a solution of NH₃. The obtained neodymium(III) peroxotitanate and intermediate compounds of the isothermal heating were proved by the help of quantitative analysis and infrared spectroscopy (IRS). It has Nd₄[Ti₂(O₂)₄(OH)₁₂]·7H₂O composition. The absorption band observed in IRS at 831 cm^?1 relates to a triangular bonding of the peroxo group of Ti, at 1062 cm^?1—terminal groups Ti–OH and at 1491 and 1384 cm^?1—the bridging OH^?-groups Ti–O(H)–Ti. Nd₂TiO₅ was obtained by thermal decomposition of neodymium(III) peroxotitanate. The isothermal conditions for decomposition were determined on the base of differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry results in the temperature range of 20–1000 °C. The mechanism of thermal decomposition of Nd₄[Ti₂(O₂)₄(OH)₁₂]·7H₂O to Nd₂TiO₅ was studied. In the temperature range of 20–208 °C, a simultaneous decomposition of the peroxo groups by the separation of oxygen and hydrate water is conducted and Nd₄[Ti₂O₄(OH)₁₂] is obtained. From 208 to 390 °C, the terminal OH^?-groups are separated and Nd₄[Ti₂O₇(OH)₆] is formed. In the range of 390–824 °C, the bridging OH^?-groups are completely decomposed to Nd₂TiO₅. The optimal conditions for obtaining nanocrystalline Nd₂TiO₅ are 900 °C for 6 h and 20–80 nm.     

Photoelectrochemical starch-O<Subscript>2</Subscript> biofuel cell consisting of chlorophyll derivative-sensitized TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> anode and enzyme-based cathode

A new photoelectrochemical starch-O₂ biofuel cell has been developed, consisting of chlorin-e₆ (Chl-e₆) adsorbed on a TiO₂ layer onto an optical transparent conductive glass electrode as a photoanode, bilirubin oxidase (BOD)-modified electrode as a cathode, and a solution containing starch, glucoamylase, glucose dehydrogenase and NAD⁺ as fuel. The short-circuit photocurrent and the open-circuit photovoltage of this cell are 9.0 μA cm^?2 and 530 mV, respectively. The maximum power, FF and \(\eta\) values are estimated to be 1.7 μW cm^?2, 0.36 and 0.0017 %, respectively. Thus, this new type of the photochemical starch-O₂ biofuel cell has been developed by using the visible light photosensitization of Chl-e₆ on a TiO₂ film photoanode.     

Study of quasi-solid electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells using surfactant as pore-forming materials in TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> photoelectrodes

A novel polymer gel electrolyte was used to improve the performance and long-term stability in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The polymer gel electrolyte (PGE) was prepared by mixing 5 wt% poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and 2 % TiO₂ nanoparticles. The conductivity of PGE with P25 reached 9.98 × 10^?3 S/cm, which increased by 34.9 % compared with 7.40 × 10^?3 S/cm of PGE without P25, and the diffusion coefficient was also increased by 19.0 %. Different photoelectrodes were obtained by using three kinds of surfactants (cetylamine, octadecylamine, and P123) as pore-forming materials, and their morphologies were contrasted through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that gel electrolyte can increase the short-circuit current density (J _sc) from 11.01 to 12.99 mA/cm² in DSSCs. Moreover, unlike the liquid electrolyte, the gel electrolyte is more conducive to the TiO₂ photoelectrodes with larger pores. In conclusion, the efficiency of DSSC with gel electrolyte and P123 as pore-forming material was 6.73 %, which was 12 % higher than the liquid electrolyte in the same test condition. In addition, the sealed gel electrolyte DSSCs showed better stability than did liquid electrolyte DSSCs during nearly 600 h.     

Preparation and characterization of sulfonated polyimide/TiO2 composite membrane for vanadium redox flow battery

A sulfonated polyimide (SPI)/TiO₂ composite membrane was fabricated by a blend way to improve its performance in vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). Both EDS and XRD results verify the successful preparation of the SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane. The surface SEM image shows its homogeneous structure. TG analysis identifies its thermal stability. The SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane possesses much lower permeability of VO²⁺ ions (2.02?×?10^?7 cm² min^?1) and favorable proton conductivity (3.12?×?10^?2 S cm^?1). The VRB single cell with SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane shows higher coulombic efficiency (93.80–98.00 %) and energy efficiency (83.20–67.61 %) at the current density ranged from 20 to 80 mA cm^?2 compared with that with Nafion 117 membrane. And the operational stability of the as-prepared composite membrane is good after 50 times of cycling tests. Therefore, the low-cost SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane with excellent battery performance exhibits a great potential for application in VRB.     

Heterostructured CoO/3D-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanorod arrays for photoelectrochemical water splitting hydrogen production

Homogeneous p-type cobalt (II) oxide (CoO) nanoparticles were successfully deposited on n-type three-dimensional branched TiO₂ nanorod arrays (3D-TiO₂) through photochemical deposition and thermal decomposition to form a novel CoO/3D-TiO₂ p-n heterojunction nanocomposite. Due to the narrow band gap of CoO nanoparticles (~2.4 eV), the as-synthesized CoO/3D-TiO₂ exhibited an excellent visible light absorption. The amounts of deposited CoO nanoparticles obviously influence the hydrogen production rate in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The as-synthesized CoO/3D-TiO₂-5 obtains the highest PEC hydrogen production rate of 0.54 mL h^?1 cm^?2 after five-time CoO deposition cycles (at a potential of 0.0 V vs Ag/AgCl). The photocurrent density of CoO/3D-TiO₂-5 is 1.68 mA cm^?1, which is ca. 2.5 times greater than that of pure 3D-TiO₂. The results showed that the formation of internal electrical-field between the CoO/3D-TiO₂ heterojunction, which has a direction from n-type TiO₂ to p-type CoO, facilitated the charge separation and transfer and resulted in a high efficiency and stable PEC activity.     

N-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> applied in low-temperature-based dye-sensitized solar cells

With urea as nitrogen source, N-doped TiO₂ powders were synthesized and fabricated for low-temperature dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by the method of doctor-blade, and the highest temperature of the whole process was 120 °C. SEM, TEM, XRD, DRS, and XPS were used to analyze the microstructure of the N-doped TiO₂ powders. EIS, Bode plot, UV–Vis and I–V were employed to measure the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs. The maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) was 5.18 % when the amount of the doped nitrogen was 4 %, and, when compared with the η of 4.22 % for pure TiO₂, the short circuit current was increased by 22.2 % and the efficiency was increased by 22.7 %. It has been shown that the doped nitrogen could effectively suppress TiO₂ crystal phase transition from anatase to rutile, and decrease the size of particles. Therefore, the increased photoelectric conversion efficiency of the N-doped TiO₂-based DSSC was ascribed to the more suitable crystal phase, sizes and inner structure.     

Structural and electrical properties of chemical solution deposited (Bi0.9Tb0.1)(Fe0.975 TM 0.025)O3±δ (TM = Ni, Mn and Ti) thin films

Effects of Tb and transition metal (TM = Ni, Mn and Ti) ions co-doping on the structural, electrical and ferroelectric properties of the BiFeO₃ thin films prepared by using a chemical solution deposition method were reported. From X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering analyses, distorted rhombohedral perovskite structures were observed for all thin films. Improved electrical and ferroelectric properties were observed for the co-doped thin films. Among the thin films, the lowest leakage current density of 2.67 × 10^?6 A/cm² (at 100 kV/cm), large remnant polarization (2P _r ) of 82.2 μC/cm² and low coercive field (2E_c) of 680 kV/cm (at 1,036 kV/cm) were measured for the (Tb, Mn) co-doped thin film.     

Performance studies of electrolyte-supported solid oxide fuel cell with Ni–YSZ and Ni–TiO2–YSZ as anodes

Redox cycling of Ni-based anode induces cell degradation which limits the cell's lifetime during solid oxide fuel cell operation. In the present study, the redox testing of electrolyte-supported cells has been investigated with TiO₂-added NiO–YSZ anode matrix. Button cells were fabricated by die-pressing YSZ powder as electrolyte, and onto which NiO–YSZ or NiO–TiO₂–YSZ anode and LSM–YSZ composite cathode were painted. The electrochemical performance and stability have been evaluated by measuring current–voltage characteristics followed by impedance spectroscopy after each redox cycling. Anode matrices before and after cell operation have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental dispersive X-ray (EDX), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). During cell operation the peak power density decreases from 111 mW cm^?2 (239 mA cm^?2) to 84 mW cm^?2 (188 mA cm^?2) between 23 and 128 h with five redox cycles for cell having NiO–YSZ (40:60) anode. But for cell with NiO–TiO₂–YSZ (30:10:60), the anode peak power density was constant and stable around 85 mW cm^?2 (194 mA cm^?2) throughout the cell run of 130 h and five redox cycles. No loss in the open circuit voltage was observed. SEM and XRD studies of NiO–TiO₂–YSZ (30:10:60) anodes revealed formation of ZrTiO₄, which may be responsible for inhibition of Ni coarsening leading to stable cell performance.     

Al-doped La<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> as oxide anode for solid oxide fuel cells using dry C<Subscript>3</Subscript>H<Subscript>8</Subscript> fuel

Direct hydrocarbon type solid oxide fuel cells are attractive from simple gas feed process and also high energy conversion efficiency. In this study, La_0.5Sr_0.5MnO₃ (LSM55) perovskite oxide was studied as oxide anode for direct hydrocarbon type solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Although reasonable power density like 1 W/cm² and open circuit voltage (OCV) (1.1 V) at 1273 K was exhibited when H₂ was used as fuel, the power density as well as OCV of the cell using LSM55 for anode was significantly decreased when dry C₃H₈ was used for fuel. After power generation measurement, LSM55 phase was decomposed to MnO and La₂MnO₄. Effects of various dopants to Mn site in LSM55 were studied and it was found that partial substitution of Mn in LSM55 with other cation, especially transition metal, is effective for increasing maximum power density. In particular, reasonable high power density can be achieved on the cell using Ni-doped LSM55 for anode. On the other hand, Al substitution is effective for increasing stability against reduction and so, dopant effects of Al were studied in more details for dry C₃H₈ fuel. The power density as well as OCV increased with increasing Al content and the highest power density was achieved at x = 0.4 in La_0.5Sr_0.5Mn_1 ? x Al _x O₃. Among the examined composition, it was found that the cell using La_0.5Sr_0.5Mn_0.6Al_0.4O₃ anode shows the largest power density (0.2 W/cm²) at 1173 K and high OCV (1.01 V) against dry C₃H₈ fuel.     

Extensive enhancement in power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell by using Al-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> photoanode

In this work, we have prepared Al-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles via a hydrothermal method and used it for making photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Material characterizations were done using XRD, AFM, SEM, TEM and EDAX. XPS results reveal that Al is introduced successfully into the structure of TiO₂ creating new impurity energy levels in the forbidden gap. This resulted in tuning of the conduction band of TiO₂ and reduced charge recombination which led to better current conversion efficiency of DSSC. Greater dye loading and enhanced surface area was obtained for Al-doped TiO₂ compared to un-doped TiO₂. I-V analysis, EIS and Bode plots are employed to evaluate photovoltaic performance. The short-circuit current density (J _sc) and efficiency (η) of cell employing Al-doped TiO₂ photoanode were extensively enhanced compared to the cell using un-doped TiO₂. The optical band gap (E _g) for Al-doped and un-doped TiO₂ was obtained as 2.8 and 3.2 eV, respectively. J _sc and η were 13.39 mAcm^?2 and 4.27%, respectively, under illumination of 100 mWcm^?2 light intensity when thin films of 1% Al-doped TiO₂ was employed as photoanode in DSSC using N719 as the sensitizer dye. With the use of un-doped TiO₂ as photoanode under similar conditions, J _sc 5.12 mAcm^?2 and η 1.06% only could be obtained. The maximum IPCE% obtained with Al-doped TiO₂ and un-doped TiO₂ was 67 and 38% respectively at the characteristic wavelength of dye (λ _max = 540 nm). The EIS analyses revealed resistive and capacitive elements that provided an insight into various interfacial processes in terms of the charge transport. It was observed that Al-doping reduced the interfacial resistance leading to better charge transport which has improved both photocurrent density and conversion efficiency. Higher electron mobility and fast diffusion resulting in greater charge collection efficiency was obtained for Al-doped TiO₂ compared to the un-doped TiO₂. Using the Mott–Schottky plot, the donor density was calculated for un-doped and Al-doped TiO₂. The work demonstrated that the Al-doped TiO₂ is potential photoanode material for low-cost and high-efficiency DSSC.     

Synthesis of new dyes containing double tetrazole groups for sensitization of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles in dye-sensitized solar cells

Di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)methane is employed as a new electron acceptor group in the synthesis of two metal-free organic dyes containing triphenylamine donor group. Dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO₂ solar cell (DSSC) applying these novel dyes is constructed for consideration of their photovoltaic properties. The electronic properties of the dyes are also considered with the aid of theoretical calculations. The DSSC constructed from 4-(2,2-di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)vinyl)-N,N-diphenylaniline (T1) shows a short-circuit photocurrent density of 13.38 mA cm^?2, an open circuit voltage of 578 mV, and a fill factor of 0.54, with a resulted solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 4.18% under simulated 1 sun irradiation (100 mW cm^?2). This result reveals that the dye with the di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)methane anchoring group injects more electrons to the conduction band of TiO₂ in comparison with its analogs with single tetrazole ring in their anchoring group. It is found that in spite of a red-shift of the absorption spectrum resulted from the lengthening of the molecule, the dye with two di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)methane groups gives lower performance than the dye with a single electron acceptor.     

Folded nanosheet-like Co<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>Se array for overall water splitting

Active, stable, and earth-abundant bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting is pivotal to actualize large-scale water splitting via electrolysis. In this work, the hierarchical folded nanosheet-like Co_0.85Se array on Ni foam is constructed by liquid-phase chemical conversion with cobalt precursor nanorod array. It can serve as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolyte, with a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 at overpotential of 232 mV for OER and 129 mV for HER and Tafel slope of 78.9 mV dec^?1 for OER and 95.0 mV dec^?1 for HER, respectively. The two-electrode alkaline water electrolyzer utilizing this folded nanosheet-like Co_0.85Se array as both anode and cathode toward overall water splitting offered a current of 10 mA cm^?2 at a cell voltage of 1.60 V. This work explores an efficient and low-cost electrocatalyst for overall water splitting application in alkaline electrolytes.     

Heavy metal removal using SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> binary oxide: experimental design approach

Sorption of Ni²⁺ and Cd²⁺ as heavy metals ions at the interface of the binary oxide TiO₂-SiO₂ was investigated. In addition, physical properties of TiO₂-SiO₂ matrices such as BET surface area, X-ray diffraction, and point of zero charge (pH_PZC) were measured. Statistical design of experiments was applied to find the conditions of sorption at which the maximum heavy metal removal was achieved. A second order polynomial function was used to correlate the independent variables (pH, metal ion concentration, and shaking time) and response (heavy metal removal). Values of regression parameters were determined by the computer program, Design expert^® (Stat-Ease Inc.). The quality of fit of the polynomial model equation was expressed by the regression coefficient R ². The sorption results showed that the pH is the most significant factor. In turn, the sorbed percentage reached 100% at high initial concentration and long shaking times due to formation of hydroxyl compounds between the ions and TiO₂-SiO₂ matrices. The results show that there is a Gaussian (normal) distribution of residuals (squared differences between experimentally observed and predicted values from the model), and also that the differences between observed and predicted values are in the range of ±5%. These indicate that experiments were well-conducted and the results have no significant error.     

Composite electrocatalyst Mo<Subscript>x</Subscript>W<Subscript>1-x</Subscript>S<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanosheets on carbon fiber paper for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) or tungsten disulfide (WS₂), as a promising catalyst, is widely investigated for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, a composite electrocatalysts Mo_xW_1-xS₂ is successfully decorated on carbon fiber paper (CFP) through a facile hydrothermal method. The three-dimensional porous CFP can enable the diffusion and penetration of electrolyte. Comparing with MoS₂ and WS₂ catalyst, the composite electrocatalyst Mo_xW_1-xS₂ nanosheets can expose the large number of electrochemically active sites. Hence, the as-prepared Mo_xW_1-xS₂/CFP (3:1) exhibit the outstanding HER catalytic activity with the small Tafel slope of 68 mV dec^?1 and the low overpotential of ??178.4?±?0.5 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^?2. Chronoamperometric current test for 18 h confirm the long-term stability of the composite electrocatalyst.     

Effect of molten salt synthesis temperature on TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and Li cycling properties

In this project, we synthesized TiO₂ compounds through the molten salt method (MSM) using Ti(IV) oxysulfate, as the Ti source. Molten salts in the ratio of 0.375 M LiNO₃:0.180 M NaNO₃:0.445 M KNO₃ were added and heated at temperatures of 145, 280, 380, and 480 °C for 2 h in air, respectively. A part of the sample prepared at 145 °C was further reheated to 850 °C for 2 h in air. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the amorphous phase was obtained when the sample was prepared at 145 °C, and polycrystalline to crystalline anatase phase was formed when heated from 280 to 850 °C, which is complementary to the results of selected area electron diffraction studies. Electrochemical properties were studied using galvanostatic cycling, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy at a current density of 33 mA g^?1 (0.1 C rate) and a scan rate of 0.058 mV s^?1, in the voltage range 1.0–2.8 V vs. Li. Electrochemical cycling profiles for the amorphous TiO₂ samples prepared at 145 °C showed single-phase reaction with a low reversible capacity of 65 mAh g^?1, whereas compounds prepared at 280 °C and above showed a two-phase reaction of Li-poor and Li-rich regions with a reversible capacity of 200 mAh g^?1. TiO₂ produced at 280 °C showed the lowest capacity fading and the lowest impedance value among the investigated samples.     

Interlayer-expanded MoS<Subscript>2</Subscript>/graphene composites as anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

A facile strategy was developed to prepare interlayer-expanded MoS₂/graphene composites through a one-step hydrothermal reaction method. MoS₂ nanosheets with several-layer thickness were observed to uniformly grow on the surface of graphene sheets. And the interlayer spacing of MoS₂ in the composites was determined to expand to 0.95 nm by ammonium ions intercalation. The MoS₂/graphene composites show excellent lithium storage performance as anode materials for Li-ion batteries. Through gathering advantages including expanded interlayers, several-layer thickness, and composited graphene, the composites exhibit reversible capacity of 1030.6 mAh g^?1 at the current density of 100 mA g^?1 and still retain a high specific capacity of 725.7 mAh g^?1 at a higher current density of 1000 mA g^?1 after 50 cycles.