Free-Standing Hierarchically Sandwich-Type Tungsten Disulfide Nanotubes/Graphene Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), analogue of graphene, could form various dimensionalities. Similar to carbon, one dimensional (1D) nanotube of TMD materials has wide application in hydrogen storage，Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors due to their unique structure and properties. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of tungsten disulfide nanotubes (WS2-NTs)/graphene (GS) sandwich-type architecture as anode for lithium-ion batteries for the first time. The graphene based hierarchical architecture plays vital roles in achieving fast electron/ion transfer, thus leading to good electrochemical performance. When evaluated as anode, WS2-NTs /GS hybrid could maintain a capacity of 318.6 mA/g over 500 cycles at a current density of 1A/g. Besides, the hybrid anode does not require any additional polymetric binder, conductive additives or a separate metal current-collector. The relatively high density of this hybrid is beneficial for high capacity per unit volume. Those characteristics make it a potential anode material for light and high performance lithium-ion batteries