Atomically Intercalating Tin Ions into the Interlayer of Molybdenum Oxide Nanobelt Toward Long-cycling Lithium Battery

Atomic intercalation of different agents into two-dimensional layered materials can engineer the intrinsic structure at the atomic scale and thus tune the physical and chemical properties for specific applications. Here we successfully introduce tin (Sn) atoms into the interlayer of α-MoO3 nanobelts forming a new MoO3-Sn intercalation with ultra-stable structure. Combining with theoretical calculations, our synchrotron radiation-based characterizations and electron microscope observations clearly reveal that the intercalated Sn atoms could bond with five O atoms, forming a pentahedral structure. Subsequently, the Sn-O bonds induce a less distorted [MoO6] octahedral structure, resulting in a unique structure that is distinct with pristine α-MoO3 or any other Molybdenum oxides. Employing as anode for lithium-ion battery, the as-prepared MoO3-Sn nanobelts display a much higher capacity of 520 mAh/g at 500 mA/g than α-MoO3 nanobelts (291 mAh/g), with a Coulombic efficiency of 99.5%. Moreover, owing to the str...