Maleimide‐Enhanced Conductivity of 2D MoS<sub>2</sub> and WS<sub>2</sub> via Rapid “Click” Reactions Toward High‐Performance Supercapacitors
The rising need for efficient energy storage has sparked interest in high-performance supercapacitors. However, their low energy density is a significant drawback. 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) like molybdenum disulfide (MoS<sub>2</sub>) and tungsten disulfide (WS<sub>2</sub>) are promising for electrodes due to their adjustable surface chemistry and electronic properties. However, MoS<sub>2</sub> and WS<sub>2</sub> are still facing challenges, including phase instability, limited interlayer accessibility, and poor conductivity in ambient conditions. Here, a rapid and controllable strategy is presented for the covalent functionalization of MoS<sub>2</sub> and WS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets via a "click"-type Michael addition reaction with maleimide derivatives. This approach increases interlayer spacing by more than 1.5 times and enhances electrical conductivity by over threefold, thereby exceptionally improving charge transport and ion diffusion. The functionalized membranes deliver outstanding electrochemical performance, including a volumetric capacitance of up to 164 F cm<sup>-3</sup> and capacitance retention exceeding 92% after 10 000 cycles, which are 30-fold increase when comparing with their pristine counterparts. This work offers a robust platform for engineering high-performance TMD-based electrodes and provides a viable route toward next-generation high-performance flexible energy storage devices.
Authors
- Bintong Yang
- Zhiyuan Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7483-1438)
- Bolong Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2526-2002)
- Ruixin Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5304-5371)
- Zhong‐Shuai Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1851-4803)
- WeiKang Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2636-6508)
- Guozhao Fang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2140-0145)
- Ting Ying (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5263-8362)
- Dongliang Chao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7793-0044)
- Mingzi Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5136-7265)
- Liang Mei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0963-7158)
- Honglu Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5075-6805)
- Yue Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8213-1420)
Institutions
- Central South University (CN)
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Fudan University (CN)
- City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Research Institute (CN)
- Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2025-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202506741
- Primary Topic
- MXene and MAX Phase Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00