Effective liquid-phase exfoliation and sodium ion battery application of MoS2 nanosheets.

Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been taken much attention for various applications, such as catalyst, energy storage, and electronics. However, the lack of effective exfoliation methods for obtaining 2D materials in a large quantity has been one of the technical barriers for the real applications. We report a facile liquid-phase exfoliation method to improve the exfoliation efficiency for single-layer MoS2 sheets in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) with a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) assistant. The concentration of the exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets was greatly improved compared to that achieved with conventional liquid-phase exfoliation methods using NMP solvent. We demonstrate stable operation of sodium-ion battery by using the exfoliated MoS2 and MoS2-rGO composite as anode materials.