Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) along with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) utilized to enhance the capacitance of conducting polymers (PANI and PPy)

Substrate-induced strain in molybdenum disulfide grown by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition

Transition metal dichalcogenides have been extensively studied in recent years because of their fascinating optical, electrical, and catalytic properties. However, low-cost, scalable production remains a challenge. Aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) provides a new method for scalable thin film growth. In this study, we demonstrate the growth of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) thin films using AACVD method. This method proves its suitability for low-temperature growth of MoS2thin films on various substrates, such as glass, silicon dioxide, quartz, silicon, hexagonal boron nitride, and highly ordered pyrolytic graphite. The as-grown MoS2shows evidence of substrate-induced strain. The type of strain and the morphology of the as-grown MoS2highly depend on the growth substrate's surface roughness, crystallinity, and chemical reactivity. Moreover, the as-grown MoS2shows the presence of both direct and indirect band gaps, suitable for exploitation in future electronics and optoelectronics.

A photothermal MoS2 decorated biomass carbon-based aerogel with a directionally aligned porous structure for mitigating heavy metal stress under seawater acidification

Marine animals and human are threatened by seawater acidification and metal contamination. Especially, the toxicity of copper (Cu) is expected to be boosted with seawater acidification. However, studies on the removal of Cu under seawater acidification are limited for practical applications, owing to obstacles such as instability, secondary contamination, and low adsorption efficiency. In this work, coconut shells were utilized for the synthesis of biomass carbon, which was then decorated with MoS2. A novel porous MoS2/carbon-based aerogel (MCA) with the synergistic effect of photothermal conversion and adsorption was constructed via directional freeze-drying technology. The adsorption properties of MCA were a precise match with Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models with a high correlation coefficient (R2) of more than 0.995. Under solar illumination, the surface temperature of MCA reached up to 36.3 °C and the adsorption capacity of MCA increased to 833.8 mg g-1, indicating that the remarkable thermal properties of MCA contributed to achieving high adsorption capacity. The adsorption mechanisms of MCA involved in the removal of Cu(ii) ions were dominated by chemisorption rather than surface physical adsorption. Owing to its outstanding photothermal conversion performance and directionally aligned porous structure, MCA was able to remove Cu(ii) species from seawater, and the adsorption ability of MCA reached 247.1 mg g-1 after ten adsorption cycles. MCA exhibited excellent stability to resist the complex natural environment and was easy to reuse. Overall, MCA with a series of merits, including high adsorption efficiency, excellent photothermal conversion property, and outstanding cycling stability, was confirmed to contribute to addressing heavy metal stress under seawater acidification.