Hydrothermally synthesized MoS2 NFs toward efficient supercapacitor and fast photocatalytic degradation of MB.

MoS2 stands out as a distinctive material, owing to its two-dimensional structure, with promising potential across various domains notably in energy storage and photocatalysis. In the present work, a pH-assisted hydrothermal approach (one step) has been utilized to synthesize MoS2 nanoflowers (NFs) using ammonium molybdate and thiourea. Characterization of the prepared MoS2 NFs was conducted using XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, FTIR, Raman, UV–Vis, PL, BET and XPS techniques. XRD analysis reveals the hexagonal structure of the prepared NFs, while SEM & TEM images confirm the flower-like morphology consisting of many thin petals. Band gap energy determined through the absorption spectrum is 1.9 eV. Notably, the PL spectrum exhibits a strong and broad peak at 688 nm attributed to band-to-band transition indicating multilayer formation of MoS2 NFs, which is further confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. XPS also confirms the formation of MoS2 showing Mo+4 and S−2 valance states. The specific surface area of MoS2 NFs is found to be 108.446 m2 g−1 that is very high compared to similar materials. Electrochemical properties of MoS2 NFs were also investigated showing a specific capacitance of 761 F g−1 at 4 A g−1 with an energy density of 21 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 886 Wkg−1 for the MoS2 NFs-based electrode. Moreover, photocatalytic degradation of MB using MoS2 NFs at different weight contents (10, 15, 20 and 25 mg) was explored demonstrating highest 97% degradation of MB within 90 min with 20 mg photocatalyst loading along with 0.04 min−1 reaction rate. It also shows good reusability for four consecutive cycles. Furthermore, photodegradation mechanism has also been explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]