Publication date: 15th December 2025
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a class of two-dimensional materials consisting of individual 2D sheets held together by van der Waals forces. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is an intriguing member of this materials family since it can act as intercalation host for a variety of cations. MoS2 morphology and crystallite size have been known to tremendously impact the electrochemical properties, for example, it was reported that reducing crystallite size and/or introducing lattice disorder can lead to a pseudocapacitive intercalation signature for lithium ions from organic electrolytes.
Besides controlling particle and/or crystallite size, direct manipulation of the lattice parameters such as the interlayer spacing between individual layers can have an impact on the electrochemical response. Utilizing organic molecules that act as pillars between the layers, the d-spacing of MoS2 can be effectively tuned.
In this contribution, our group’s efforts in controlling MoS2 structure over several length scales is introduced. By using a bottom-up hydrothermal synthesis approach, MoS2 crystallite size and interlayer spacing can be simultaneously controlled by pH adjustment and the use of organic pillars, respectively, and the interlayer composition can be adjusted by varying pillar concentration.[1] Moreover, we will demonstrate that the interaction between pillar and MoS2 host dictates the resulting electrochemical properties: While non-covalently interacting 1,6-hexanediammonium pillars lead to a capacitor-like electrochemical signature, covalently attached 1,6-hexanedithiol pillars yield more battery-like properties.[2]
Finally, we will give an outlook on the viability of such pillaring approaches via top-down synthetic approaches of commercial, bulk-sized MoS2, paving the way for obtaining larger batch sizes of interlayer-functionalized transition metal dichalcogenides.
We acknowledge funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the NanoMatFutur program (grant No. 03XP0423) and financial support from the Helmholtz Association.
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