Fabrication of 3D Spongia-shaped polyaniline/MoS2 nanospheres composite assisted by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) for high-performance supercapacitors

•3D Spongia-shaped polyaniline (sPANI) is simply synthesized on a large scale.•With the assistance of PVP, smaller MoS2 spheres are assembled on the surface of 3D Spongia-shaped polyaniline (sPANI).•The as-obtained 3D Spongia-shaped polyaniline/MoS2 nanospheres composite (sPANI/A-MoS2) presents a high specific capacitance of 605 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, and the capacity retention maintains 88.6% after 1000 cycles.

This research paper describes a facile strategy to synthesize the novel 3D Spongia-shaped polyaniline/MoS2 nanospheres composite under the addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (named sPANI/A-MoS2), and this composite displays excellent electrochemical properties as an electrode material for supercapacitors. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared 3D sPANI/A-MoS2 are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fouriertransform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), Raman spectroscopy measurements and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Cyclic voltammograms (CV) and galvanostatic charging/discharging (GCD) tests are adopted to evaluate the electrochemical performances of the composite. All the results powerfully demonstrate the successful fabrication of 3D sPANI/A-MoS2. The maximum specific capacitance of this composite reaches up to 605 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1, and the energy density of 53.78 Wh kg−1 is obtained at a power density of 0.4 kW kg−1. Notably, the capacity retention of the as-fabricated sPANI/A-MoS2 composite electrode can maintain 88.6% (well above 59.8% for sPANI) after constant charge-discharge 1000 cycles, showing an excellent electrochemical stability.

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