Enhancing the supercapacitor performance of MoS2 nanostructures through metallic phase enrichment and morphology control

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) has attracted considerable attention as a promising electrode material for supercapacitor applications due to its tunable electronic structure and layered morphology. However, its electrochemical performance is highly dependent on the synthesis route and the resulting structural characteristics. In this study, MoS₂ nanostructures were synthesized using two distinct methods, hydrothermal synthesis (HT) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), yielding materials with markedly different morphologies, particle sizes, and phase compositions. The HT method produced nanoscale MoS₂ with partial enrichment of the metallic 1T phase, while the CVD approach yielded highly crystalline, few-layer 2H-MoS₂ nanosheets. Electrodes were fabricated on nickel foam current collectors, whose three-dimensional porous architecture facilitated efficient charge transport and electrolyte accessibility. Electrochemical evaluation revealed that HT-MoS₂ exhibits superior supercapacitive performance, delivering a high specific capacitance of 466.66 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹, compared to 371.10 F g⁻¹ for CVD-MoS₂. In addition, the HT-MoS₂ electrode demonstrated excellent galvanostatic charge–discharge behavior and retained high capacitance stability over 2,000 charge–discharge cycles. These results highlight the critical role of synthesis-driven phase and morphology engineering, as well as electrode architecture, in optimizing the supercapacitor performance of MoS₂-based materials and highlight their potential for advanced energy storage applications.