4 research outputs found
Phase Restructuring in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Highly Stable Energy Storage
Achieving
homogeneous phase transition and uniform charge distribution is essential
for good cycle stability and high capacity when phase conversion materials
are used as electrodes. Herein, we show that chemical lithiation of
bulk 2H-MoS<sub>2</sub> distorts its crystalline domains in three
primary directions to produce mosaic-like 1T′ nanocrystalline
domains, which improve phase and charge uniformity during subsequent
electrochemical phase conversion. 1T′-Li<sub><i>x</i></sub>MoS<sub>2</sub>, a macroscopic dense material with interconnected
nanoscale grains, shows excellent cycle stability and rate capability
in a lithium rechargeable battery compared to bulk or exfoliated-restacked
MoS<sub>2</sub>. Transmission electron microscopy studies reveal that
the interconnected MoS<sub>2</sub> nanocrystals created during the
phase change process are reformable even after multiple cycles of
galvanostatic charging/discharging, which allows them to play important
roles in the long term cycling performance of the chemically intercalated
TMD materials. These studies shed light on how bulk TMDs can be processed
into quasi-2D nanophase material for stable energy storage
Phase Transformations in TiS<sub>2</sub> during K Intercalation
The
electrochemical performances of TiS<sub>2</sub> in potassium
ion batteries (KIBs) are poor due to the large size of K ions, which
induces irreversible structural changes and poor kinetics. To obtain
detailed insights into the kinetics of phase changes, we investigated
the electrochemical properties, phase transformations, and stability
of potassium-intercalated TiS<sub>2</sub> (K<sub><i>x</i></sub>TiS<sub>2</sub>, 0 ≤ <i>x</i> ≤ 0.88).
In situ XRD reveals staged transitions corresponding to distinct crystalline
phases during K ion intercalation, which are distinct from those of
Li and Na ions. Electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic
charge/discharge) studies show that the phase transitions among various
intercalated stages slow down the kinetics of the discharge/charge
in bulk TiS<sub>2</sub> hosts. By chemically prepotassiating the bulk
TiS<sub>2</sub> (K<sub>0.25</sub>TiS<sub>2</sub>) to reduce the domain
size of the crystal, these phase transitions are bypassed and more
facile ion insertion kinetics can be obtained, which leads to improved
Coulombic efficiency, rate capability, and cycling stability
Mo-Terminated Edge Reconstructions in Nanoporous Molybdenum Disulfide Film
The
catalytic and magnetic properties of molybdenum disulfide (MoS<sub>2</sub>) are significantly enhanced by the presence of edge sites.
One way to obtain a high density of edge sites in a two-dimensional
(2D) film is by introducing porosity. However, the large-scale bottom-up
synthesis of a porous 2D MoS<sub>2</sub> film remains challenging
and the correlation of growth conditions to the atomic structures
of the edges is not well understood. Here, using molecular beam epitaxy,
we prepare wafer-scale nanoporous MoS<sub>2</sub> films under conditions
of high Mo flux and study their catalytic and magnetic properties.
Atomic-resolution electron microscopy imaging of the pores reveals
two new types of reconstructed Mo-terminated edges, namely, a distorted
1T (DT) edge and the Mo-Klein edge. Nanoporous MoS<sub>2</sub> films
are magnetic up to 400 K, which is attributed to the presence of Mo-terminated
edges with unpaired electrons, as confirmed by density functional
theory calculation. The small hydrogen adsorption free energy at these
Mo-terminated edges leads to excellent activity for the hydrogen evolution
reaction
<i>In Situ</i> Observation and Electrochemical Study of Encapsulated Sulfur Nanoparticles by MoS<sub>2</sub> Flakes
Sulfur
is an attractive cathode material for next-generation lithium
batteries due to its high theoretical capacity and low cost. However,
dissolution of its lithiated product (lithium polysulfides) into the
electrolyte limits the practical application of lithium sulfur batteries.
Here we demonstrate that sulfur particles can be hermetically encapsulated
by leveraging on the unique properties of two-dimensional materials
such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS<sub>2</sub>). The high flexibility
and strong van der Waals force in MoS<sub>2</sub> nanoflakes allows
effective encapsulation of the sulfur particles and prevent its sublimation
during <i>in situ</i> TEM studies. We observe that the lithium
diffusivities in the encapsulated sulfur particles are in the order
of 10<sup>–17</sup> m<sup>2</sup> s<sup>–1</sup>. Composite
electrodes made from the MoS<sub>2</sub>-encapsulated sulfur spheres
show outstanding electrochemical performance, with an initial capacity
of 1660 mAh g<sup>–1</sup> and long cycle life of more than
1000 cycles