Formation of Hierarchical 2D-Mos2 Nanostructures over Carbon Fabric as Binder Free Electrode Material for Supercapacitor Applications

Abstract

Carbon fabrics are the new generation promising electrode materials for super capacitors owing to their high electrical conductivity, high chemical stability and low thermal expansion. In this work, 2D-MoS₂ nanostructures have been successfully deposited over the commercially available carbon fabric by hydrothermal approach, using silicontungstic acid as an additive. MoS₂ nanostructures – carbon fabric was broadly characterized using XRD, FESEM and Raman Spectroscopy. XRD patterns indicated that the fabricated MoS₂ nanoparticles can be indexed to hexagonal (2H) and rhombohedral (3R) phases. FESEM images revealed the formation of hierarchical 2D MoS₂ nanosheets arranged in a nanosphere like morphology over the carbon fabric. The electrochemical behavior of the MoS₂ - carbon fabric and commercially available bare carbon fabric were studied using cyclic voltammetry analysis with different scan rates. The MoS₂-carbon fabric exhibited an excellent electrochemical performance with a specific capacitance of 441 F/g at a scan rate of 10mV/s. The good cyclic behavior with symmetric charging/discharging curves, constant specific capacitance for longer scan rates, suggesting that the MoS₂- carbon fabric electrode is a potential electrode material for high power applications.