Ultrasonication-assisted synthesis of 2D porous MoS2/GO nanocomposite catalysts as high-performance hydrodesulfurization catalysts of vacuum gasoil: Experimental and DFT study

Ultrasonic-assisted MoS2/GO/TiO2 ceramic coatings: Enhancing anti-friction performance through dual-interface optimization

Ceramic coatings containing two-dimensional materials (2D materials) provide effective protection for light alloys during wear, significantly improving their anti-friction performance. MoS2 has proven highly effective in enhancing the anti-friction performance of ceramic coatings, particularly when synthesized via plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). However, dislocation pinning due to the incoherent interfaces in MoS2/TiO2 coatings tends to cause localized stress concentrations and brittle fracture, requiring effectively improve nanomechanical properties by optimizing interface design. To address these issues, this study used ultrasonic-assisted PEO to disperse graphene oxide (GO), which provided more possibility for in-situ synthesis MoS2, ultimately resulting in MoS2 with modified interlayer spacing. The change in interlayer spacing induced dislocation evolution at incoherent interface, leading to dual interface formation. At MoS2 (0.534 nm)/TiO2 interface: dislocation dipoles evolve to create considerable distortion, facilitating releasing shear stresses and inhibiting crack propagations. This process is followed by dislocation annihilation, keeping to stable interfacial bonding. Additionally, the others form strong dislocation pinning to obstruct dislocation slip and enhancing deformation resistance at MoS2 (0.227 nm)/TiO2 interface. The combined effects of dual interfacial enhancements resulted in a 90.0 % reduction in friction coefficients of the MoS2/GO/TiO2 coating compared to the traditional ceramic coating. This facile technique provides a new strategy to fabricate self-lubricating ceramic coatings on light alloys, while the introduction of ultrasound during PEO offers valuable guidance for applying ultrasound in the synthesis of 2D materials.

Study on the Performance of Ni-MoS2 Catalysts with Different MoS2 Structures for Dibenzothiophene Hydrodesulfurization

Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is an important process for the production of clean fuel oil, and the development of a new environmentally friendly, low-cost sulfided catalyst is key research in hydrogenation technology. Herein, commercial bulk MoS2 and NiCO3·2NiOH2·4H2O were first hydrothermally treated and then calcined in a H2 or N2 atmosphere to obtain Ni-MoS2 HDS catalysts with different structures. Mechanisms of hydrothermal treatment and calcination on Ni-MoS2 catalyst structures were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic performance of Ni-MoS2 catalysts was evaluated by the HDS reaction of dibenzothiophene (DBT) on a fixed bed reactor, and the structure-activity relationship between the structures of the Ni-MoS2 catalyst and the HDS of DBT was discussed. The results showed that the lateral size, the number of stacked layers, and the S/Mo atomic ratio of MoS2 in the catalyst decreased and then increased with the increase of the hydrothermal treatment temperature, reaching the minimum at the hydrothermal treatment temperature of 150 °C, i.e., the lateral size of MoS2 in the catalyst was 20-36 nm, the number of stacked layers of MoS2 was 5.4, and the S/Mo ratio in the catalyst was 1.80. In addition, the effects of different calcination temperatures and calcination atmospheres on the catalyst structures were investigated at the optimum hydrothermal treatment temperature. The Ni-Mo-S and NixSy ratios of the catalysts increased and then decreased with the increasing calcination temperature under a H2 atmosphere, reaching a maximum at a calcination temperature of 400 °C. Therefore, DBT exhibited the best HDS activity over the H-NiMo-150-400 catalyst, and the desulfurization rate of DBT reached 94.7% at a reaction temperature of 320 °C.

Emerging Layered Materials and Their Applications in the Corrosion Protection of Metals and Alloys

Metals and alloys are essential in modern society, and are used in our daily activities. However, they are prone to corrosion, with the conversion of the metal/alloy to its more thermodynamically-favored oxide/hydroxide phase. These undesirable corrosion reactions can lead to the failure of metallic components. Consequently, corrosion-protective technologies are now more important than ever, as it is essential to reduce the waste of valuable resources. In this review, we consider the role of emerging 2D materials and layered materials in the development of a corrosion protection strategy. In particular, we focus on the materials beyond graphene, and consider the role of transition metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS2, MXenes, layered double hydroxides, hexagonal boron nitride and graphitic carbon nitride in the formulation of effective and protective films and coatings. Following a short introduction to the synthesis and exfoliation of the layered materials, their role in corrosion protection is described and discussed. Finally, we discuss the future applications of these 2D materials in corrosion protection.

Facile synthesis of vacancy-induced 2H-MoS2 nanosheets and defect investigation for supercapacitor application

In this paper, a 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheet is prepared via a one-step hydrothermal method as electrode material for supercapacitors. Meanwhile, a series of MoS2-x nanostructures with sulfur vacancies have been successfully obtained in an Ar/H2 mixed atmosphere at different annealing temperatures. The prepared materials were characterized by XRD, HR-TEM, Raman and XPS to identify their morphology and crystal properties. MoS2-x assembled by interconnected nanosheets (MoS2-x -700) provides a maximum specific capacitance of 143.12 F g-1 at a current density of 1.0 A g-1 with 87.1% of initial capacitance reserved after 5000 cycles. The outstanding performance of the annealed MoS2-x nanosheets in sodium storage is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the unique interconnected structure and the abundant active vacancy generated by the sulfur vacancies. Atomic models of sulfur vacancy defects on the basal plane, Mo-edge and S-edge were established and the electronic properties of MoS2-x were further evaluated assisted by first principles theory. DFT calculation results show that sulfur vacancy defects can provide additional empty states near the Fermi level and induce unpaired electrons, thus increasing the carrier density and improving electrical conductivity. Our findings in this work provide experimental and theoretical evidence of improving the electrochemical performance of 2H-MoS2 nanosheets by annealing treatment.