Nanocomposite of Mo₂N Quantum Dots@MoO₃@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon as a High-Performance Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

A superstructural nanocomposite of Mo₂N quantum dots@MoO₃@nitrogen-doped carbon is synthesized to overcome the disadvantages of poor cycling stability and low ionic/electronic conductivity of the MoO₃ anode in lithium-ion batteries. In this novel nanocomposite, Mo₂N, which is calculated to demonstrate metallic character by density functional theory, together with the nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets provides dual enhancement in improving the structural stability and kinetics at the same time. Consequently, an optimized Mo₂N quantum dots@MoO₃@nitrogen-doped carbon nanocomposite exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance, including a large reversible capacity of 960 mAh g^-1 at 100 mA g^-1 after 100 cycles, and high rate performance as well as excellent long-term cycling stability over 700 and 500 cycles at 1 and 10 A g^-1, respectively.