Exfoliation in a low boiling point solvent and electrochemical applications of MoO₃

MoO₃ is a versatile two-dimensional transition metal oxide having applications in areas such as energy storage devices, electronic devices and catalysis. To efficiently utilize the properties of MoO₃ arising from its two-dimensional nature exfoliation is necessary. In this work, the exfoliation of MoO₃ is carried out in 2-butanone for the first time. The achieved concentration of the dispersion is about 0.57 mg·mL⁻¹ with a yield of 5.7%, which are the highest values reported to date. These high values of concentration and yield can be attributed to a favorable matching of energies involved in exfoliation and stabilization of MoO₃ nanosheets in 2-butanone. Interestingly, the MoO₃ dispersion in 2-butanone retains its intrinsic nature even after exposure to sunlight for 24 h. The composites of MoO₃ nanosheets were used as an electrode material for supercapacitors and showed a high specific capacitance of 201 F·g⁻¹ in a three-electrode configuration at a scan rate of 50 mV·s⁻¹.