Oxygen and nitrogen-enriched hierarchical MoS2 nanospheres decorated cornstalk-derived activated carbon for electrocatalytic degradation and supercapacitors

In this work, Oxygen and nitrogen-enriched hierarchical MoS2 nanospheres decorated cornstalk-derived activated carbon (MoS2/CSAC) were prepared by simple carbonization and hydrothermal methods, being used in electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) and supercapacitors. The structure and electrochemical performance of MoS2/CSAC composites were analyzed in detail. Oxygen and nitrogen-enriched MoS2 is spherical with uniform size, and accumulation of nanosheets was observed on the surface. The unique hierarchical structure could contribute to form more catalytic active sites. MoS2/CSAC composites contain abundant mesopores and a wide range of pore sizes, which are beneficial for fast electrochemical reactions. Moreover, it was detected that the coexistence of Mo4+ and Mo6+ in the MoS2/CSAC composites, exhibiting high catalytic activity for accelerating the formation of (OH)-O-center dot from H2O2. The degradation efficiency of phenol (100 mg L-1) is up to 97.26% in 120 min. Simultaneously, it showed excellent performance in supercapacitors. The specific capacitance was as high as 332.62 F g(-1) in a three-electrode system. These results demonstrate that the MoS2/CSAC composites are promising dual-functional materials for electrocatalytic degradation and supercapacitors.

Automated summary

This study successfully prepared oxygen and nitrogen-enriched MoS2/CSAC composites with a unique hierarchical structure and high catalytic activity. They exhibited excellent performance in electrochemical advanced oxidation processes and supercapacitors, demonstrating great potential for dual-functional applications.