Epitaxial Growth of Lattice‐Mismatched Core–Shell TiO 2 @MoS 2 for Enhanced Lithium‐Ion Storage

Core–shell structured nanohybrids are currently of significant interest due to their synergetic properties and enhanced performances. However, the restriction of lattice mismatch remains a severe obstacle for heterogrowth of various core–shells with two distinct crystal structures. Herein, a controlled synthesis of lattice‐mismatched core–shell TiO 2 @MoS 2 nano‐onion heterostructures is successfully developed, using unilamellar Ti 0.87 O 2 nanosheets as the starting material and the subsequent epitaxial growth of MoS 2 on TiO 2 . The formation of these core–shell nano‐onions is attributed to an amorphous layer‐induced heterogrowth mechanism. The number of MoS 2 layers can be well tuned from few to over ten layers, enabling layer‐dependent synergistic effects. The core–shell TiO 2 @MoS 2 nano‐onion heterostructures exhibit significantly enhanced energy storage performance as lithium‐ion battery anodes. The approach has also been extended to other lattice‐mismatched systems such as TiO 2 @MoSe 2 , thus suggesting a new strategy for the growth of well‐designed lattice‐mismatched core–shell structures.