Advances in layered transition metal dichalcogenide materials for supercapacitors and lithium–ion batteries

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (LTMDs) are considered promising materials for supercapacitors (SCs) and lithium–ion batteries (LIBs) because of their unique layered architecture, which offers an enormous surface area and fast ion movement, which makes them potential candidates for high-performance electrodes in these devices. Nevertheless, inherent challenges exist, including poor electrical conductivity, frequent large-volume expansions and slow ionic diffusion rates, that restrict their application for advanced energy storage applications. Therefore, various methods have been applied to overcome the challenges and numerous innovative approaches have been employed to fabricate high-quality electrode materials for SCs and LIBs. This brief review is focused on the challenges and difficulties encountered by SCs and LIBs and explores how 2D TMDs can be able to enhance their efficiency. This review also highlighted the crystal structures and various synthesis methods used to develop high-performance LTMD for SCs and LIBs. Furthermore, the applications of layered TMD-based nanomaterials in energy storage, specifically in SCs and LIBs, are described. Finally, the current challenges and future research directions in this field are proposed.