Improving the capacity, redox activities of Li-ion batteries through Si3N4@MoS2 hetero-structure design

To develop advanced anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIB), an extensive research effort is being employed. The effort focuses much on silicon-based anodes due to its high theoretical capacity. However, drawbacks exist such as low practical capacity, limited lithium diffusion, volume expansion, and stress-induced material damage, which retard the utilization of Si in LIB. To circumvent the above-stated issues, we developed a hetero-structure using silicon nitride (Si3N4) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as an anode for LIB. The developed Si3N4@MoS2 hetero-structure exhibits excellent initial capacity with better cycling stability than the pristine Si3N4. The tremendous electrochemical performance is attributed to (i) the formation of hetero-structure, as well as enhanced surface area (ii) The Si3N4@MoS2 forms a suitable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) by improving the electrode wettability attributed to its high polar nature (iii) The structural advantage of Si3N4@MoS2, it shortens the Li+transport path and improves the charge transfer and (iv) The highly abundant active sites of Si3N4@MoS2 improve the electrochemical performances.