From waste to power: transforming waste tires into high-performance sodium-ion battery anodes via carbon/MoS2 composites

Abstract

The rapid global increase in waste tire generation demands urgent sustainable solutions. Pyrolysis is an effective method that thermochemically decomposes tire rubber into gas, oil, and carbon black (CBp). While CBp shows potential as a low-cost sodium-ion battery anode, its limited specific capacity restricts practical application. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), another promising anode material with expanded interlayer spacing, faces challenges of cycling instability and poor conductivity. In this study, we construct a hierarchical carbon/MoS₂ composite (PCBp@MoS₂) via hydrothermal synthesis, where the 3D cross-linked CBp enhances charge transfer and suppresses MoS₂ volume expansion, while MoS₂ delivers a high sodium storage capacity. The composite achieves 480.4 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g⁻¹ and retains 384.7 mAh g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles at 2 A g⁻¹. This work establishes a circular economy model for tire waste valorization and provides new insights for developing sodium-ion battery anode materials.