Nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes supported Co9S8 nanoparticles for lithium-ion batteries with excellent electrochemical performance

[Display omitted] •Synthesized (Co9S8@C-NCNTs) using polypyrrole (PPy) tubes and ZIF-67 as the precursors.•Co9S8 nanoparticles were coated by carbon layer and attached on the carbon tubes.•Co9S8@C-NCNTs exhibits excellent electrochemical performance as the material of LIBs. Nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes supported Co9S8 nanoparticles (Co9S8@C-NCNTs) was successfully prepared by solid state sulfurization reaction. As a result, the capacity, rate performance and cycling stability of Co9S8@C-NCNTs are obviously enhanced when it is used as anode material for LIBs. Co9S8@C-NCNTs composite exhibits a reversible capacity of 727 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 and excellent rate performance (589 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 2 A g−1). This work provides a succinct and effective approach to prepare high-performance LIBs anode materials using metal organic framework (MOF) as precursor.