Toward fast zinc-ion storage of MoS2 by tunable pseudocapacitance

•A 1T-MoS2 nanosheet grown in situ on reduced graphene oxide with high pseudocapacitive properties is firstly reported to accommodate zinc-ion storage.•The graphene substrate effectively inhibits the transformation of 1T phase to 2H phase of MoS2 during the cycling test, which provides numerous active sites for fast Zn2+ diffusion and electron transport.•The 1T-MoS2/rGO hybrid electrode has superior rate capability and cyclic stability. A hierarchical hybrid where 1T phase MoS2 are grown in-situ on reduced graphene oxide scaffolds is firstly explored as a superior cathode of aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries with high rate capability and long cycle-life due to the development of pseudocapacitive property of MoS2. [Display omitted] While aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ARZIBs) are one of the promising energy storage devices, it is still a challenge to develop satisfactory cathode materials. Here, a hierarchical hybrid where MoS2 nanosheets with 86% of 1T phase are grown in-situ on reduced graphene oxide scaffolds is proposed to be a superior cathode of ARZIBs. The microstructure of as-prepared hybrid is correlated with its zinc storage performance by electrochemical and spectroscopic characterizations coupled with electron microscopy analysis. They reveal the incorporation of reduced graphene oxide scaffolds effectively stabilizes the 1T phase, exempting, to the maximum, the phase transition associated with the zinc insertion/extraction, reduces the electron transfer resistance and keeps the hierarchical morphology of the nanoscale MoS2 that shortens the zinc ion diffusion path length. All these together develop the pseudocapacitive property of MoS2. As a result, this hybrid electrode delivers a high discharge capacity of 108.3 mAh g−1 at 5.0 A g−1 and retains 88% initial capacity after 1000 cycles. Our strategy sheds some lights on the rational design of MoS2 nanoscale architecture towards superior cathode material of divalent/multivalent aqueous batteries.