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MoS2, owing to its advantages of having a sheet-like structure, high electrical conductivity, and benign environmental nature, has emerged as a candidate of choice for electrodes of next-generation supercapacitors. Its widespread use is offset, however, by its low energy density and poor durability. In this study, to overcome these limitations, flower-shaped MoS2/graphene heterostructures have been deployed as electrode materials on flexible substrates. Three-electrode measurements yielded an exceptional capacitance of 853 F g−1 at 1.0 A g−1, while device measurements on an asymmetric supercapacitor yielded 208 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and long-term cyclic durability. Nearly 86.5% of the electrochemical capacitance was retained after 10,000 cycles at 0.5 A g−1. Moreover, a remarkable energy density of 65 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 0.33 kW kg−1 was obtained. Our MoS2/Gr heterostructure composites have great potential for the development of advanced energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial microenvironment modulation has been proven to be a promising route to fabricate highly efficient catalysts. In this work, the lattice defect‐rich NiS2/MoS2 nanoflakes (NMS NFs) electrocatalysts are successfully synthesized by a simple strategy. Benefiting from the abundant lattice defects and modulated interfacial microenvironment between NiS2 and MoS2, the prepared NMS NFs show superior catalytic activity for water splitting. Particularly, the optimized NMS NFs (the molar ratio of Ni:Mo = 5:5) exhibit remarkable catalytic activity toward overall water splitting with a voltage of 1.60 V at 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline media, which is lower than that of the noble‐metal‐based electrocatalysts (1.68 V at 10 mA cm−2). The NMS NFs electrocatalysts also show exceptional long‐term stability (>50 h) for overall water splitting. The density functional theory results demonstrate that the injection of NiS2 into MoS2 can greatly optimize the catalytic kinetics and reduce the energy barrier for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions. The work does not only offer a promising candidate for a highly efficient water splitting electrocatalyst but also highlights that interfacial microenvironment modulation is a potential strategy to optimize the catalytic kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous metal sulfides/TiO2 (P‐MST) photocatalysts are successfully prepared via a low‐cost strategy. It is found that the P‐MST possesses a high crystallinity with average pore size of ≈500 nm, which greatly enhances the structural stability as well as catalytic activity. The catalytic properties of the P‐MST are examined by monitoring the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible‐light irradiation. Particularly, the optimized 7% Bi2S3–CdS–MoS2–TiO2 heterostructures exhibit a remarkable catalytic performance (i.e., the degradation of RhB of ≈98.9%) and long‐term cyclic stability (i.e., the catalytic activity of ≈91.7% even after 30 cyclic test), compared with that of other P‐MST heterostructures. The exceptional catalytic performance may be ascribed to the following benefits: i) the porous structure supplies ample carrier charge transfer channels and lots of surface reaction sites; and ii) the suitable amount of metal sulfides grown on TiO2 have contributed to significant improvement of the electrical conductivity and the light absorption capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate an efficient and large-scale synthesis approach of a novel heterostructure comprised of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) and nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (n-RGO) hydrogel (MoS 2 /n-RGO) via two-step hydrothermal process. Due to the strong molybdenum–nitrogen (Mo−N) bond, the n-RGO sheets are well interconnected to the MoS 2 sheets and restacking of the two components is minimized. The hybrid possesses an open-pore structure, large surface area, and high nitrogen content. As an anode for lithium-ion batteries, the MoS 2 /n-RGO manifests a high specific capacity of 1140 mA h g −1 at the current density of 100 mA g −1 , which is higher than that of the MoS 2 /non-doped RGO (MoS 2 /RGO) counterpart. A remarkable rate capability and excellent electrochemical stability (94% retention after 130 cycles) is also achieved. Furthermore, the MoS 2 /n-RGO hybrid delivers a maximum energy density of 890 Wh kg −1 with the power density of 130 W kg −1 . The superior electrochemical performance can be attributed to the durability and improved charge kinetics of the MoS 2 /n-RGO heterostructure owing to the nitrogen-doping effect. This study sheds light on the importance of a nitrogen-doped architecture in the creation of novel functional materials that can act as advanced electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever‐increasing packaging and power densities of modern electronic devices in the present "More‐than‐Moore" technology era demand higher performance thermal interface materials (TIMs). However, conventional composite TIMs require higher loading to achieve better thermal conductive property, resulting in a mechanical problem. The poor wetting property of matrix loading materials further increases the interfacial thermal resistance (ITR). In this work, a one‐step hydrothermal method is employed to grow 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets on a tellurium (Te) nanowire skeleton and silver (Ag) nanoparticles are further decorated on MoS2 nanosheets via the photoreduction method. The in‐plane thermal conductivity of the final nanocomposite reaches as high as 10.4 W m−1 K−1, which is 4,160% higher than that of a pure epoxy resin and one order of magnitude higher than that of conventional polymeric nanocomposites. The 3D interconnected heat transferring network of Te/MoS2/Ag greatly enhances the thermal stability of the composite in practical applications. The rational materials design concept may contribute to the development of new types of high‐performance thermal management materials. A Te/MoS2/Ag‐epoxy composite film shows impressive thermal conductivity of 10.4 W m−1 K−1 which is 4.160% higher than that of pure epoxy. MoS2 nanosheets with good adhesion property chemically connect nanofiller with epoxy resin matrix, which leads to a highly depressed interfacial thermal resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large scale sea-urchin-like carbon/ZnO heterostructures were successfully synthesized using a novel low temperature hydrothermal method, in which glucose and zinc acetate were employed as carbon and ZnO sources, respectively. ZnO nanowires with an average diameter of 40–50 nm were grown on the surface of carbon microspheres forming carbon/ZnO hybrid nano/micro heterostructures. Owing to the large surface area, superior conductivity, and strong light absorption in the ultraviolet region, the hybrid nano/micro heterostructures showed excellent photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of methylene orange under ultraviolet light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Visible light driven SnO2 coated PZT spheres were synthesized by two step solvothermal method. [•] The EDS mapping shows the uniform coating of SnO2 over PZT spheres. [•] Visible light photocatalytic activities for the degradation of Toluidine Blue O dye. [•] SnO2/PZT spheres exhibited excellent chemical stability and efficient charge separation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The current era of nanotechnology has provided numerous impressive opportunities to purify ever-increasing water impurities. Of them, photodegradation of industrial dyes is one of the best strategies to solve this problem effectively using cost-effective photocatalysts. MXene has been considered as an efficient photocatalytic material however, its transport properties suffer due to the re-stacking of its flakes. Moreover, a very low bandgap of MXene causes electron/hole recombination which is a major drawback of a photocatalyst. Herein, we explored 2D/2D composite nanoarchitectures to stop this re-stacking in MXene by applying Zinc oxide nanoflakes (ZnO NFKs) with Ti 3 C 2 T x (MXene) to solve this outstanding issue. The as-synthesized composite nanoarchitectures not only degraded the 99.9% Methylene Blue (MB) dye within 40 min but also demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity. We hope the work presented here will be a great help for the young researchers exploring the hybrid 2D-2D composite nanoarchitectures for various applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Layered RePS electrocatalysts were successfully fabricated by a simple method. • Layered structure provides ample electron transfer channels. • The formed heterostructure can greatly enhance the catalytic stability during HER process. • The optimized RePS catalysts show small overpotential of 57 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for HER in acidic media. Construction of electrocatalysts with exceptional intrinsic activity and rich active sites has proved to be an effective strategy for remarkably enhancing the activity of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, durable and highly efficient layered Re 2 P/ReS 2 (RePS) heterostructures were successfully fabricated by an in-situ phosphating layered ReS 2. Taking advantage of the unique layered structure can provide abundant reaction active sites and the strong electronic interaction between ReS 2 and Re 2 P can enhance the intrinsic activity, the optimized RePS electrocatalysts show superior catalytic activities of 69 and 57 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for HER in alkaline and acidic media, respectively. The density functional theory results suggest that the formed heterostructures between ReS 2 and Re 2 P play an important role in optimizing the catalytic kinetics of the electrocatalysts. This work not only demonstrates that modulation of the electronic structure of catalysts is an efficient way to improve the HER activity but also confirms that the layered RePS heterostructure is a promising candidate for robust and high performance HER catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report the synthesis of cactus-shaped CdS-Cu 9 S 5 heterostructure on copper foam (CdS-Cu 9 S 5 -CF) through a cost-effective strategy. The as-prepared CdS-Cu 9 S 5 -CF is demonstrated to be a highly efficient catalyst for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, and its high performance is attributed to its unique cactus-shaped structure, which provides abundant surface catalytic active sites, and numerous charge transfer channels, thereby enhancing the transport and separation of photoinduced charge carriers during the PEC process. The optimized 3% CdS-Cu 9 S 5 -CF (the mole ratio of CdS: Cu 9 S 5 = 3: 100) exhibits higher photocurrent density than those of pure Cu 9 S 5 and other CdS-Cu 9 S 5 -CF catalysts because the synergetic effects between Cu 9 S 5 and CdS can significantly inhibit the recombination of photoinduced charge carriers during the PEC process. We believe that the new synthetic route developed in this study will enable the facile preparation of metal sulfide-based catalysts for high-efficiency PEC water splitting. Unlabelled Image • The cactus-shaped CdS-Cu 9 S 5 heterostructure was successfully fabricated. • Such cactus-shaped structure can offer more carrier charges transfer channel. • PEC performance enhancement of Cu 9 S 5 through optimized the CdS content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the design and synthesis of three dimensional flower-like molybdenum disulphide ( f -MoS 2 ) hierarchical structures, on reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotube (o-MWCNT) backbone ( f -MoS 2 /RGO/o-MWCNT), through one-pot hydrothermal method. Control experiments reveal that the homogenously distributed o-MWCNTs on RGO play an essential role for the formation of such morphology. As an anode for lithium ion batteries, the f -MoS 2 /RGO/o-MWCNT hybrid delivers a high reversible capacity of 1275 mAh g −1 at the current density of 100 mA g −1 , superior rate capability and excellent long cycle life, with capacity retention of 93% after 100 cycles. The outstanding electrochemical performance can be attributed to the large surface area, short diffusion length and continuous electron transport pathway, as a consequence of the intimate contact between f -MoS 2 , graphene, and o-MWCNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]