Net-like molybdenum selenide–acetylene black supported on Ni foam for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes and hydrogen evolution reaction

• Net-like MoSe2–acetylene black composite was in situ prepared on Ni foam.
• The composite was used for supercapacitor and hydrogen evolution reaction.
• Microstructures and electrochemical properties of the electrodes were evaluated.
• The composite exhibited good performances.

Three-dimensional (3D) transition metal dichalcogenides-based nanostructures composed of nanosheets have recently attracted significant interest for energy storage devices such as supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Herein, a facile hydrothermal strategy is applied to prepare net-like MoSe2–acetylene black (AB), tailoring the interior structure by Ni substrate. The 3D MoSe2–AB nanostructures constructed with MoSe2 ultrathin nanosheets are applied as supercapacitors electrode materials. As expected, the net-like MoSe2–AB composites exhibit a high specific capacitance (2020 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) and good cycling stability (107.5% after 1500 cycles) due to their unique architecture. The MoSe2–AB composites also show highly electrocatalytic ability for hydrogen evolution reaction (0.08 V of onset potential and ∼55 mV dec−1 of Tafel slope). The developed method can be extended to the preparation of other MoSe2-based materials and used in other applications, such as sensors, Li-ion battery or oxygen reduction reaction.