Mn incorporated MoS2 nanoflowers: A high performance electrode material for symmetric supercapacitor

Energy storage devices based on the two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have great interest due to their fascinating physical and chemical properties. In this study, Mn incorporated MoS2 nanosheets are self-assembled into nanoflowers via a simple one-step hydrothermal process. The nanoflowers retain the feature of the high specific surface area of the nanosheets and the intercalation of Mn atoms up to a certain amount increases the porosity of MoS2, thus enhancing active sites for reaction. The presence of an intermediate oxidation state of Mn (Mn3+), which also plays an important role in increasing capacitance, is highest in low doped sample resulting in superior capacitance performance compared to bare and high Mn content samples. So the supercapacitor electrode made of low Mn incorporated MoS2 nanoflowers exhibits maximum specific capacitance (430 F g(-1)), energy density 48.9 W h kg(-1) and power density 5.0 kW kg(-1) with excellent capacitance retention up to 5000 cycles at 10 A g(-1), when used as a supercapacitor electrode. Further, the performance of the electrode material has been examined by lightning four LED bulbs in series showing longer discharge time. Our findings open new areas to explore Mn doping with TMDs as next-generation energy devices systematically. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.