Application of MoS2 in energy and its performance improvement strategy

Global energy and climate issues have been a serious worldwide problem. There is a need to develop both efficient energy conversion technologies and upgraded energy storage technologies. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a transition metal disulfide (TMD), has unique physical, optical, and electrical properties. Which have attracted great attention in contemporary discussions and gained great interest in energy conversion and energy storage applications. However, the insufficient catalytic activity and stability of MoS2 alone is a major challenge for its practical application. Based on this, this paper summarizes the recent research progress of MoS2-based materials in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), supercapacitors (SC), lithium-ion battery (LIB), sodium-ion battery (SIB), potassium-ion battery (PIB) and zinc-air batteries (Zn-Air), containing various MoS2 performance enhancement strategies. Modification methods in each application include defect engineering, phase engineering, doping composites, morphology design, and layer spacing adjustment. This paper aims to reveal the catalytic and electrochemical energy storage properties of MoS2 and discuss the difficulties encountered in the study of MoS2 modification. This will provide additional ideas for designing MoS2-based materials in advanced energy systems, including but not limited to the reviewed applications. •The research progress of MoS2-based materials in energy in recent years is reviewed.•The performance enhancement strategies of MoS2 materials in energy are summarized.•The catalytic and energy storage capabilities of MoS2 are revealed.•The difficulties encountered in the modification of MoS2 are discussed.