Direct growth of MoS2 hierarchical nanoflowers on electrospun carbon nanofibers as an electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors

Highlights: • Direct growth of MoS₂ on carbon nanofibers attained by facile hydrothermal process. • FESEM and XRD results confirms the MoS₂ encapsulated CNFs with hexagonal phase. • CV were employed with different electrolytes to evaluate the influence of ion size. • The prepared MoS₂/CNF exhibits the specific capacitance of 903.9 Fg^-1 at a current density 1 Ag^-1. • It maintains 94% efficiency even after 5000 cycles. -- Abstract: High intrinsic ionic conductivity and a theoretical capacity of MoS₂ is well appreciated and gathered great attention for an electrode asset for energy storage applications. The MoS₂ layers inter connected with one-dimensional carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are successfully prepared to give a conductive three-dimensional network for the robust charge transfer kinetics. The MoS₂ nanosheets adhered together to form micro flowers accomplished by a simple hydrothermal process. Further, the nanosheets are allowed to grow over the electrospun CNFs directly. The structural, functional, and morphological characterizations unanimously revealed the nanocomposite formation. Also, the surface area has been determined by BET analysis and subjected to electrochemical studies as an electrode for supercapacitors. The nanocomposite deposited on the graphite sheet (1 × 1 cm²) displays the high capacitance counterparts of 903.9 Fg^-1 achieved by a lower current density of 1 Ag^-1 and maintained 94% efficiency even 5000 cycles after a charge-discharge process. This process was examined with the potential range of 0.8 V (−0.4 to +0.4 V) in 1 M KCl electrolyte. These results confirms the prepared nanocomposite can be used as a proficient electrode for the creation of high capacitance supercapacitors with good cyclability.