Rice University Discovers New Moly Disulfide Applications

IEEE Spectrum reported that researchers at Rice University have found a way to manipulate molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) so that it can be used as an improved catalyst for fuel cells and also as an electrode for supercapacitors.

As quoted in the market news:

In research published in the journal Advanced Materials, the Rice team, led by James Tour, developed a simple method for producing flexible films made from MoS2 that orients the material on its sides. In other words, they made the material in such a way that the maxiumum amount of its edges are exposed.

The researchers showed that when oriented in this manner, the MoS2 can serve as an effective catalyst in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a process used in fuel cells to pull hydrogen from water.

The news outlet also states:

Other research has attempted to take advantage of MoS2 as a catalyst for fuel cells by standing them up on their sides. The Rice team took a different approach. First, they grew a porous molybdenum oxide film onto a molybdenum substrate through room-temperature anodization, an electrochemical process for thickening metal parts by adding a natural oxide layer.

The researchers then exposed the film to sulfur vapor at 300 °C (572 °F) for one hour. The result was molybdenum disulfide that had a flexible, nano-porous sponge-like structure.

Since the key to catalysts and to the electrodes in supercapacitors is surface area, the researchers immediately realized that the material would fit the bill for both applications. The Rice team developed a supercapacitor using the material and found the device retained 90 percent of its capacity after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles and 83 percent after 20,000 cycles.

Click here to read the full IEEE Spectrum report.