Scalable Production of Transition Metal Chalcogenides/Ultrathin 2D Carbon Nanosheets Composites with a Universal “All-in-One” Blowing Strategy

Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) belongs to the most promising class of materials with unique properties and widespread applications. Coupling with carbon materials allows further enhancement of the specific performance of TMCs by mitigating their intrinsic deficiencies. However, the synthesis of a wide variety of TMCs/carbon composites with a universal strategy especially in a scalable manner remains challenging. In this work, by utilizing the gas-liquid interfaces in viscous gel precursors, an “all-in-one” blowing strategy is proposed to achieve the synchronous growth of TMCs and carbon nanosheets, obviating the additional chalcogenization process. The generality of the proposed blowing strategy is validated by the fabrication of 32 different TMCs/carbon composites, including 24 binary TMCs, 4 ternary TMCs and 4 high-entropy sulfides. In-depth mechanistic study is accomplished by investigating the physical evolution of blowing process and accompanying chemical reactions systematically. Also, the structure of the resulting foam is adjustable by controlling the heating rate and viscosity of the precursors is demonstrated. As an illustrative example for the application of energy storage, MoS_2xSe_2(1-x)@CNS exhibits great Li⁺ storage capacity and cycling stability. Overall, this methodology serves as an effective general strategy for the rational discovery of TMCs/carbon composites and inorganic solid foams.