Solution Processing of Topochemically Converted Layered WO3 for Multifunctional Applications

Solution processing of nanomaterials is a promising technique for use in various applications owing to its simplicity and scalability. However, the studies on liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) of tungsten oxide (WO3) are limited, unlike others, by a lack of commercial availability of bulk WO3 with layered structures. Herein, a one-step topochemical synthesis approach to obtain bulk layered WO3 from commercially available layered tungsten disulfide (WS2) by optimizing various parameters like reaction time and temperature is reported. Detailed microscopic and spectroscopic techniques confirmed the conversion process. Further, LPE was carried out on topochemically converted bulk layered WO3 in 22 different solvents; among the solvents studied, the propan-2-ol/water (1 : 1) co-solvent system appeared to be the best. This indicates that the possible values of surface tension and Hansen solubility parameters for bulk WO3 could be close to that of the co-solvent system. The obtained WO3 dispersions in a low-boiling-point solvent enable thin films of various thickness to be fabricated by using spray coating. The obtained thin films were used as active materials in supercapacitors without any conductive additives/binders and exhibited an areal capacitance of 31.7 mF cm(-2) at 5 mV s(-1). Photo-electrochemical measurements revealed that these thin films can also be used as photoanodes for photo-electrochemical water oxidation.