Exfoliation-induced nanoribbon formation of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) PEDOT between MoS2 layers as cathode material for lithium batteries

A new type of layered nanocomposite synthesized by delaminated MoS2 nanosheets and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) are restacked to produce alternate polymer nanoribbons between layers of MoS2 with an interlayer distance of ∼1.38 nm. The unique properties of resulting nanocomposite are investigated by powder XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, and four-probe conductivity measurements. The obtained nanocomposite can be used as a cathode material for a small power rechargeable lithium battery as demonstrated by the electrochemical insertion of lithium into the PEDOT/MoS2 nanocomposite. A significant enhancement in the discharge capacity (100 mAh g−1) is observed compared with that (40 mAh g−1) for MoS2.