Development of MoS2-CNT Composite Thin Film from Layered MoS2 for Lithium Batteries

Layered MoS2 prepared by liquid-phase exfoliation has been blended with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) to form novel composite thin films for lithium battery applications. The films were formed by vacuum filtration of blended dispersions onto nitrocellulose membranes. The resulting composite films were transferred onto Cu foil electrodes via a facile filtration/wet transfer technique from nitrocellulose membranes. The morphology of the film was characterised by field emission scanning electron microscopy, which suggests that the MoS2-SWNT composite film shows good adherence to the Cu foil substrate. The MoS2-SWNT composite thin films show strong electrochemical performance at different charge-discharge rates. The capacity of a MoS2-SWNT composite film with thickness of 1 m is approximately 992 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles. The morphology study showed that the MoS2-SWNT thin film retains structural integrity after 100 cycles, while the MoS2 thin film without SWNTs displays significant cracking. In addition, the novel composite thin film preparation and transfer protocols developed in this study could be extended to the preparation of various layered-material-based composite films, with the potential for new device designs for energy applications.