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How MoS2 Improves Energy Storage Capacity in Lithium-ion Battery

In the development of sustainable technologies such as renewable energy and electric vehicles, the storage of electrical energy is as important as power generation. 

How to improve battery performance is a research field of great scientific significance. A large number of studies have shown that molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) composite materials play a key role in improving battery power, energy storage capacity, charging speed and stability.

As we all know, lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, from mobile phones to electric vehicle, thanks to its advantages of environmental protection, small size, light weight and no memory effect, but this does not mean the battery does not have any shortcomings. Actually, lithium-ion batteries have not been widely used in aviation, navigation and national defense due to their low energy density and high safety risks.

As a representative material for the negative electrode of commercial lithium-ion battery, graphite has good stability and conductivity, but it cannot store too much lithium ions between layers, thus significantly reducing the capacity of the battery. Normally, the more active lithium ions stored in the electrode, the greater the capacity of the battery. In addition, the battery can get higher efficiency if lithium ion diffusion rate can be faster. 

But researchers have found that MoS2 can be used to replace graphite anodes to improve the energy storage capacity.

MoS2 is a two-dimensional layered material with a naturally adjustable band gap. Its unique properties have attracted the attention of scientific researchers and have important application prospects in the fields of microelectronics, optoelectronics and batteries. Its wider interlayer spacing makes its storage capacity nearly twice that of graphite.

New research shows that MoS2 can also play a role in the development of next-generation battery technologies including Li-O2 (air) and sodium ion batteries. Although these technologies have not yet been commercialized, electrodes using MoS2 or MoS2/graphene composites have shown excellent performance in laboratory tests. In sodium ion batteries, the wider interlayer spacing of MoS2 than graphite is essential to accommodate larger Na+ ions. Besides that, the storage capacity of sodium-ion batteries with composite electrodes is higher than the combined battery capacity of MoS2 and graphene electrodes alone.

The challenge of battery technology is the need to store more electrical energy, provide more electrical energy, and be able to charge faster. The results from laboratory show that MoS2 can play a role in the future battery economy. With the development of large-scale manufacturing processes, MoS2 composite electrodes are expected to play an important role in meeting the challenges of energy storage.

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