MoS2 decorated lignin-derived hierarchical mesoporous carbon hybrid nanospheres with exceptional Li-ion battery cycle stability

Lignin is the most abundant and important macromolecule in organic matter and its yield is second only to cellulose. Lignin is abundant in source, low in price, and has a large number of active groups such as methoxy group and carboxyl group, so it has great utilization value. We used lignin as a carbon source to prepare porous carbon nanosphere (PCN) materials, and in-situ synthesized the MoS₂ on its surface. The high specific surface area (462.8 m²/g), large pore volume and good electron conductivity of the porous carbon scaffold facilitated the reversible electro-chemical reaction of S towards metallic Li, and thus the nano-hybrid showed a high specific energy and excellent cycle stability which still remained 520 mAh/g after 50 cycles.