2-Dimensional layered molybdenum disulfide nanosheets and CTAB-assisted molybdenum disulfide nanoflower for high performance supercapacitor application

Abstract

In this study, the supercapacitor performance of the hydrothermal synthesized molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets and the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-assisted MoS₂ nanoflower morphology have been investigated. The as-synthesized MoS₂ nanoflower and nanosheet morphology structures were investigated via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and the internal microstructure was examined via high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) technique. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra were obtained to identify the chemical interaction and the functional groups present in the material. The shifting of the binding energy, oxidation states, and elemental identification were conducted by X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS). The MoS₂ nanoflower possesses surface defects, which produce numerous active sites. The MoS₂ nanoflower and nanosheet electrodes demonstrate the high specific capacitance (C_sp) values of 516 F g⁻¹ and 438 F g⁻¹, respectively, at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹. However, the MoS₂ nanoflower shows high C_sp due to the large surface area with active edges, making them store more energy in the electrode.