Chain mail heterostructured hydrangea-like binary metal sulfides for high efficiency sodium ion battery

Metal sulfides has long been deemed as advanced anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, the intrinsic defects (e.g., poor electrical conductivity and large volume variation) impede this material to reach the expectations of practical application. Here, we designed a unique chain mail Sb2S3/MoS2 heterostructure based on one step sulfidation of the hydrangea-like Sb2MoO6 precursor and the obtained Sb2S3/MoS2 heterostructure exhibits large specific surface area as well as well-distributed heterointerfaces between Sb2S3 and MoS2 among the whole composite. The introduction of band engineering modulates electronic states of heterointerfaces, which induced built-in electrical field for accelerated interfacial charge transportation. Meanwhile, the in-situ formed nitrogen-rich carbon chain mail can not only facilitate electron migration and stabilize the active interfaces of Sb/Mo/Na2S intermediate phases, but also provide enhanced mechanical strength to accommodate volume expansion over sodiation, rendering admirable structure stability. Attributed to these superiorities, the as-developed SIBs exhibit an enhanced cycling performance of 411.5 mAh g-1 over 650 cycles at 5 A g-1. This work opens a new pathway for the material engineering strategy to design chain mail heterostructured material towards excellent performance. [Display omitted] •Chain mail heterostructured hydrangea-like Binary Metal Sulfides (Sb2S3/MoS2) is prepared through on step sulfidation.•The advantages of spatial confinement effects and multicomponent interaction.•Na+ storage mechanism has been clearly revealed by in-situ characterization.•The heterostructure exhibits superior rate capability and excellent cycling stability as SIB anode.