Three-dimensional MoSx/polyaniline@graphene heteroaerogels as electrode materials for high-performance symmetric supercapacitors

Nanohybrids of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDs) with conducting materials such as carbonaceous graphene and conducting polymers like polyaniline (PANI) have attracted significant interest as electrode material in energy storage applications, particularly supercapacitors. Herein, we put forward a simplistic and scalable approach to integrating molybdenum sulfide (MoSx) with conducting graphene and polyaniline supports into a three-dimensional (3D) assembly. Acidic graphene oxide was simultaneously used as a precursor of graphene and catalyst to in situ synthesize the amorphous molybdenum (MoSx) nanoparticles and as an acidic dopant for polyaniline base to form 3D porous MoSx-PANI@RGO architecture under hydrothermal methods. Due to its highly porous conductive network and plentiful ion diffusion redox sites, the as-obtained 3D hybrid material was effectively used to fabricate electrodes for supercapacitor application. The 3D MoSx-PANI@RGO nanohybrid electrodes showed excellent specific capacitance of 1365 F g(-1) @ 1 A g(-1), significantly greater than the PANI/RGO (770 F g(-1)) and MoSx/RGO (568 F g(-1)) electrodes, respectively. Remarkably, the corresponding symmetric supercapacitor device can deliver an excellent energy density of 29.5 Wh kg(-1) and a high-power density of 8700 W kg(-1) with excellent cycling permanence verified by 88% capacitance preservation after 5000 cycles. Overall, the implemented strategy of using direct acidic GO offers technological scalability in fabricating a wide range of low-cost 3D functional electrodes for various energy-storage applications.