Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Polypyrrole-functionalized Predominantly 2H-phase MoSe₂: Structural, Optical, Thermal, Morphological, and Electrochemical Investigations
J. Environ. Nanotechnol., Volume 15, No 3 (September 2026) pp. 369-380
Abstract
Molybdenum selenide (MoSe2)-conducting polymer composites are garnering interest as electrode materials because of their tunable physicochemical and electrochemical properties. However, developing rapid synthesis routes for well-defined MoSe₂/polypyrrole (PPy) composites remains challenging. In this study, predominantly 2H-phase molybdenum selenide (MS) and its PPy-functionalized composite (MSP) were synthesized using a rapid 15 min microwave-assisted method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the hexagonal 2H-MoSe2 phase with an average crystallite size of 50.0 nm, while the characteristic MoSe2 peaks and PPy-related features indicated composite formation. Raman spectroscopy identified the vibrational modes of MoSe₂ and PPy. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed a hierarchical cauliflower-like morphology, with PPy distributed over the MoSe2 nanostructures, while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) indicated near-ideal Mo stoichiometry. UV–Vis spectroscopy showed a reduced optical band gap of 1.58 eV for MSP compared with 1.77 eV for MS and 2.01 eV for PPy. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed improved thermal stability after PPy incorporation. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) in an I₃⁻/I⁻ redox electrolyte showed substantially higher redox peak currents for MSP than MS, demonstrating enhanced charge-transfer activity. These findings highlight PPy functionalization as an effective approach to tailoring MoSe₂ for electrochemical applications, particularly in dye-sensitized solar-cell counter electrodes.
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Reference
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