Herein, we are reporting a rapid one-pot synthesis of MoS2-decorated laser-induced graphene (MoS2-LIG) by direct writing of polyimide foils. By covering the polymer surface with a layer of MoS2 dispersion before processing, it is possible to obtain an in situ decoration of a porous graphene network during laser writing. The resulting material is a three-dimensional arrangement of agglomerated and wrinkled graphene flakes decorated by MoS2 nanosheets with good electrical properties and high surface area, suitable to be employed as electrodes for supercapacitors, enabling both electric double-layer and pseudo-capacitance behaviors. A deep investigation of the material properties has been performed to understand the chemical and physical characteristics of the hybrid MoS2-graphene-like material. Symmetric supercapacitors have been assembled in planar configuration exploiting the polymeric electrolyte; the resulting performances of the here-proposed material allow the prediction of the enormous potentialities of these flexible energy-storage devices for industrial-scale production.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures have been widely used as photo-catalysts due to their low-cost, high surface area, robustness, abundance and non-toxicity. In this work, four TiO2 and ZnO-based nanostructures, i.e. TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2 NTs), ZnO nanowires (ZnO NWs) and ZnO@TiO2 core-shell structures, specifically prepared with a fixed thickness of about 1.5 μm, are compared for the solar-driven water splitting reaction, under AM1.5G simulated sunlight. Complete characterization of these photo-electrodes in their structural and photo-electrochemical properties was carried out. Both TiO2 NPs and NTs showed photo-current saturation reaching 0.02 and 0.12 mA cm(-2), respectively, for potential values of about 0.3 and 0.6 V vs. RHE. In contrast, the ZnO NWs and the ZnO@TiO2 core-shell samples evidence a linear increase of the photocurrent with the applied potential, reaching 0.45 and 0.63 mA cm(-2) at 1.7 V vs. RHE, respectively. However, under concentrated light conditions, the TiO2 NTs demonstrate a higher increase of the performance with respect to the ZnO@TiO2 core-shells. Such material-dependent behaviours are discussed in relation with the different charge transport mechanisms and interfacial reaction kinetics, which were investigated through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The role of key parameters such as electronic properties, specific surface area and photo-catalytic activity in the performance of these materials is discussed. Moreover, proper optimization strategies are analysed in view of increasing the efficiency of the best performing TiO2 and ZnO-based nanostructures, toward their practical application in a solar water splitting device.

In certain polymers the graphenization of carbon atoms can be obtained by laser writing owing to the easy absorption of long-wavelength radiation, which generates photo-thermal effects. On a polyimide surface this process allows the formation of a nanostructured and porous carbon network known as laser-induced graphene (LIG). Herein we report on the effect of the process parameters on the morphology and physical properties of LIG nanostructures. We show that the scan speed and the frequency of the incident radiation affect the gas evolution, inducing different structure rearrangements, an interesting nitrogen self-doping phenomenon and consequently different conduction properties. The materials were characterized by infrared and Raman spectroscopy, XPS elemental analysis, electron microscopy and electrical/electrochemical measurements. In particular the samples were tested as interdigitated electrodes into electrochemical supercapacitors and the optimized LIG arrangement was tested in parallel and series supercapacitor configurations to allow power exploitation.