Ultrafine aluminum sulfide nanocrystals anchored on two-dimensional carbon sheets for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Aluminum sulfide is a novel light metal sulfide, which possesses multiple advantages for lithium storage, including high theoretical capacity, proper discharge potential and good conductivity. However, much research has not been done in areas related to light metal sulfide materials. Herein, we synthesized AlS/C nanocomposite by a facile one-step ball milling method. This simple method not only effectively achieves the uniform composite of AlS nanoparticles and carbon sheets, but also controls AlS into ultrafine nanocrystals. AlS/C electrode demonstrates very outstanding lithium storage performance with large reversible specific capacity (1249 mAh g at 100 mA g), remarkable rate capability (670 mAh g at 5000 mA g) and superior long-cycling stability (retaining 850 mAh g even after 1000 cycles at 1000 mA g). Moreover, the reversible lithium storage behavior and excellent diffusion kinetics of AlS/C are unveiled deeply. This work provides an inspiration to develop new light metal sulfide materials for the next-generation high-performance lithium ion battery.