MoS2 nanosheets coupled with double-layered hollow carbon spheres towards superior electrochemical activity

Abstract

MoS2 nanosheets decorated double-layered hollow carbon spheres (DLHCs@MoS2) were synthesized to form a core-shell structure for enhanced electrochemical activity. Double-layer hollow carbon spheres (DLHCs) was first prepared using a template route while the vertical growth of MoS2 nanosheets was carried out via a hydrothermal synthesis. X-ray absorption near edge structure and X-ray absorption fine structure measurement confirmed that MoS2 was strongly coupled with DLHCs through Mo-O-C hetero-interface. As a dual-functional nanocomposite material, DLHCs@MoS2 revealed ideal performance in terms of hydrogen evolution reaction and supercapacitors. DLHCs as matrix materialsplay an important role to decrease the agglomeration of MoS2 nanosheets, expose more active sites,and improve conductivity. Because of the core-shell structure, DLHCs@MoS2 is more conducive to expose active sites compared with pure MoS2 nanosheets. DLHCs@MoS2 exhibited low Tafel slope and small onset potential. In addition, DLHCs@MoS2 composites used as supercapacitor electrode revealed excellent specific capacitance of 399.4 Fg−1 in acurrent density of 0.5 Ag−1. This result provides an idea for synthesizing low-cost and high-efficiency dual-functional materials.