Synthesis of two-dimensional materials formed by layered transition metal dichalcogenides and it application on electrochemical system for energy generation and storage

Abstract

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (LTMD), have attracted much physical-chemical interest due to their two-dimensional layer structure, which is similar to graphene. However, this material tends to form fullerene-like nanoparticles or nanotube structures during processing. An efficient way to overcome this tendency and synthesize LTMD layers is to use the graphene as a substrate. In this research proposal, we describe a novel synthesis approach to prepare LTMD layers over reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and the use of the resulting hybrid material as an electrocatalytic composite for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and supercapacitors. During the development of this project, we intend to merge the microwave (MW) synthesis approach with an extension of the nonhydrolytic sol-gel method to induce a highly selective crystallization of LTMD layers over graphene sheets. (AU)