One-pot facile fabrication of carbon-coated Bi₂S₃ nanomeshes with efficient Li-storage capability

Layered bismuth sulfide (Bi₂S₃) has emerged as an important type of Li-storage material due to its high theoretical capacity and intriguing reaction mechanism. The engineering and fabrication of Bi₂S₃ materials with large capacity and stable cyclability via a facile approach is essential, but still remains a great challenge. Herein, we employ a one-pot hydrothermal route to fabricate carbon-coated Bi₂S₃ nanomeshes (Bi₂S₃/C) as an efficient Li-storage material. The nanomeshes serve as a highly conducting and porous scaffold facilitating electron and ion transport, while the carbon coating layer provides flexible space for efficient reduction of mechanical strain upon electrochemical cycling. Consequently, the fabricated Bi₂S₃/C exhibits a high and stable capacity delivery in the 0.01-2.5 V region, notably outperforming previously reported Bi₂S₃ materials. It is able to discharge 472 mA·h·g^-1 at 120 mA·g^-1 over 50 full cycles, and to retain 301 mA·h·g^-1 in the 40th cycle at 600 mA·g^-1, demonstrating the potential of Bi₂S₃ as electrode materials for rechargeable batteries.