Fabrication of 3D structured composites of crumpled graphene,polyaniline and molybdenum disulfide nanosheets for high performance alkali metal ion storage

Recently, there is a growing concern for high performance energy storage devices in many applications where a lot of energy needs to be either stored or delivered. Here, we introduce a facile strategy to fabricate effectively combined 3D structured composites of crumpled graphene (CGR), polyaniline (PANI) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) for potential application to high performance alkali metal ion storage such as sodium and lithium ion storage. 2D graphene oxides, polyaniline, and physically exfoliated 2D MoS₂ were combined to fabricate 3D structured CGR/PANI/MoS₂ composites by aerosol self-assembly process and post heat treatment. Overall morphology of composites looked like crumpled paper ball with an average diameter of ~5 μm. MoS₂ and PANI were attached on the surface of the graphene, which supported an accessible surface area and provided a path for electron transfer. Synergistic effect by the combination of the three functional materials resulted in outstanding electrochemical performance as sodium-ion storage in terms of storage capacity (328 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1), good rate capability (282 F g^?1 at 10 A g^?1), and cycle performance (95%, after 1000 cycles). Even lithium-ion storage application, the CGR/PANI/MoS₂ also delivered a high specific capacity of 470 mAh g^?1 after 100 cycles.