Novel ternary nanocomposites of MWCNTs/PANI/MoS2: Preparation, characterization and enhanced electrochemical capacitance

Abstract

In this work, nanoflower-like MoS2 grown on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/polyaniline (PANI) nano-stem is synthesized via a facile in situ polymerization and hydrothermal method. Such a novel hierarchical structure commendably promotes the contact of PANI and electrolyte for faradaic energy storage. In the meanwhile, the double-layer capacitance of MoS2 is effectively used. The morphology and chemical composition of the as-prepared samples are characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopies, Xray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectra. The electrochemical performance of the samples is evaluated by cyclic voltammogram and galvanostatic charge– discharge measurements. It is found that the specific capacitance of the obtained MWCNTs/PANI/MoS2 hybrid is 542.56 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5Ag−1. Furthermore, the MWCNTs/PANI/MoS2 hybrid also exhibits good rate capability (62.5% capacity retention at 10Ag−1) and excellent cycling stability (73.71% capacitance retention) over 3000 cycles.