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

MoS 2 nanosheets decorated double-layered hollow carbon spheres (DLHCs@MoS 2 ) 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 MoS 2 nanosheets was carried out via a hydrothermal synthesis. X-ray absorption near edge structure and X-ray absorption fine structure measurement confirmed that MoS 2 was strongly coupled with DLHCs through Mo-O-C hetero-interface. As a dual-functional nanocomposite material, DLHCs@MoS 2 revealed ideal performance in terms of hydrogen evolution reaction and supercapacitors. DLHCsas matrix materialsplay an important role to decrease the agglomeration of MoS 2 nanosheets, expose more active sites,and improve conductivity. Because of the core-shell structure, DLHCs@MoS 2 is more conducive to expose active sites compared with pure MoS 2 nanosheets. DLHCs@MoS 2 exhibited low Tafel slope and small onset potential. In addition, DLHCs@MoS 2 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.