One-pot mass preparation of MoS2/C aerogels for high-performance supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

In this paper, we report the successful design and synthesis of a hierarchically porous MoS₂/C composite aerogel by simple one-pot mass preparation. The synthesis involves the in situ formation of MoS₂ nanosheets on agarose molecular chains, the gelation of MoS₂-deposited agarose monomers to generate a composite hydrogel, and in situ transformation of the composite hydrogel into a MoS₂/C composite aerogel through carbonization. This composite aerogel can be used as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. When tested as a supercapacitor electrode, it achieves a high specific capacitance of 712.6 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ and 97.3% capacity retention after 13 000 cycles at 6 A g⁻¹. In addition, as a lithium-ion battery electrode, it exhibits a superior rate capability (653.2 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ and 334.5 mA h g⁻¹ at 5.0 A g⁻¹) and an ultrahigh capacity retention of nearly 100% after 1000 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹. These performances may be ascribed to the unique structure of the MoS₂/C composite aerogel, such as hierarchical pores, (002) plane-expanded MoS₂ and interconnected carbon networks embedded uniformly with MoS₂ nanosheets. This work may provide a general and simple approach for mass preparation of composite aerogel materials and pave the way for promising materials applied in both supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries.