Dopamine adsorption precursor enables N-doped carbon sheathing of MoS2 nanoflowers for all-around enhancement of supercapacitor performance

The application of MoS 2 in renewable energy-storage has been hampered by its low conductivity and re-stacking tendency. In this study, we demonstrate a facile and simple synthesis of MoS 2 nanoflowers free from re-stacking and demonstrate that further encapsulating the nanoflowers with a fine N-doped carbon shell enhances conductivity through the self-polymerization of dopamine. This class of nitrogen-doped carbon-encapsulated MoS 2 composites (MSCNs) was systematically optimised by adjusting nitrogen-doped carbon ratios. The composite with a mass fraction of approximately 86% MoS 2 and approximately 14% carbon content (named MSCN-1) exhibited excellent capacitive performance. In comparison to the specific capacitance of MoS 2 (169 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 and 85.30% retained capacitance over 6000 cycles), MSCN-1 based electrodes showed improved performance, delivering specific capacitance up to 276 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 and 90.59% retained capacitance over 6000 cycles. The significantly enhanced electrochemical performance of MSCN-1 was primarily due to MoS 2 and partly due to N-doped carbon. Taken together, these findings provide strong synergistic effects in this condition.