Designed fabrication of MoS2 hollow structures with different geometries and the comparative investigation toward capacitive properties

Hollow MoS2 cubes and spheres were synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method with the hard template method. The structure and morphology were characterized, and their electrochemical properties were studied. It is concluded that the specific capacitance of the hollow MoS2 cubes (335.7 F g−1) is higher than that of the hollow MoS2 spheres (256.1 F g−1). The symmetrical supercapacitors were assembled, and the results indicate that the specific capacitance of the device composed of hollow MoS2 spheres (32.9 F g−1) is slightly lower than that of the hollow MoS2 cube (37.4 F g−1) device. Furthermore, the symmetrical supercapacitor (MoS2-cube//MoS2-cube) provides a maximum energy density of 4.93 W h kg−1, which is greater than that of the symmetrical capacitor (MoS2-sphere//MoS2-sphere, 3.65 W h kg−1). This may indicate that hollow molybdenum disulfide cubes with substructures have more efficient charge transfer capabilities and better capacitance characteristics than hollow spheres. After 8000 cycles, the coulombic efficiency of the two symmetrical capacitors is close to 100%. The capacity retention of the MoS2 sphere device (95.2%) is slightly higher than that of the MoS2 cube device (90.1%). These results show that the pore structure, specific surface, and active site of MoS2 with different hollow structures have a greater impact on its electrochemical properties.