Prussian blue (PB) represents a simple, economical, and eco-friendly system as cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, structural problems usually worsen its experimental performance thus motivating the search for alternative synthetic strategies and the formation of composites that compensate these deficiencies. Herein, a straightforward approach for the preparation of PB/MoS 2 -based nanocomposites is presented. MoS 2 provides a 2D active support for the homogeneous nucleation of porous PB nanocrystals, which feature superior surface areas than those obtained by other methodologies, giving rise to a compact PB shell covering the full flake. The nanocomposite exhibits an excellent performance as cathode for SIBs with discharge capacity values up to 177 mA h g −1 and a specific capacitance of 354 F g −1 . These values are even larger for the intercalation of K + ions (up to 215 mA h g −1 , reaching a specific capacitance of 489 F g −1 ). Compared to similar composites, superior performance can be ascribed to a synergistic effect of the coordination compound with the 2D material.

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Transition metal chalcogenophosphates of general formula MPX3 have attracted recent interest in the field of 2D materials due to the possibility of tuning their properties when reaching the 2D limit....

In this work we exploit the ability of spin-crossover molecules to switch between two spin states, upon the application of external stimuli, to prepare smart molecular/2D heterostructures. Through the chemical design of the hybrid interface, that involves a covalent grafting between the two components, we obtain a hybrid heterostructure formed by spin-crossover nanoparticles anchored on chemically functionalized monolayers of semiconducting MoS2. In the resulting hybrid, the strain generated by the molecular system over the MoS2 layer, as a consequence of a thermal or light-induced spin switching, results in a dramatic and reversible change of its electrical and optical properties. This novel class of smart molecular/2D heterostructures could open the way towards a novel generation of hybrid multifunctional materials and devices of direct application in highly topical fields like electronics, spintronics or molecular sensing.