Flower-like Mn/Co Glycerolate-Derived α-MnS/Co₉S₈/Carbon Heterostructures for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Transition-metal oxides/sulfides have been widely applied for energy storage because of their high-theoretical capacity and natural abundance with low prices, but they suffer from the volume change-induced pulverization problem during cycling. Herein, we present the successful fabrication of heterostructured α-MnS/Co₉S₈ with simultaneous carbon hybridization through the chemical vapor deposition method, using the pre-synthesized flower-like Mn/Co-glycerate by the solvothermal method as a Mn/Co source and the thiophene as a C/S source. When applied as a lithium storage anode, the α-MnS/Co₉S₈/C electrode displays satisfactory electrochemical performances, exhibiting a high reversible capacity of 608 mA h g^-1 at 500 mA g^-1 upon 300 cycles with 73% capacity retention and a high rate capacity of 422 mA h g^-1 at 1000 mA g^-1, which is much better than that for the Mn/Co-glycerate-derived MnCo₂O_x counterpart. Benefiting from the stepwise lithium storage behaviors of a-MnS and Co₉S₈ and the carbon wrapping, the α-MnS/Co₉S₈/C heterostructures effectively suppress the electrode pulverization, which finally contributes to the enhanced lithium storage performance.