Antioxidant Triggered Metallic 1T’ Phase Transformations of Chemically Exfoliated Tungsten Disulfide (WS₂) Nanosheets

Developing facile methods for inducing phase transformation between metallic and semiconducting 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) materials is crucial toward leveraging their use in cutting-edge energy devices. Herein, 2H-to-1T’ phase transformations in chemically exfoliated Tungsten Disulfide (WS₂) nanosheet films, triggered by antioxidants toward highly conductive 2D TMDC electrode materials, are introduced. It is found that antioxidants cause residual LiO_x compounds to reduce to Li metal, subsequently inducing 1T’ phase transformations in layered WS₂ nanosheets, resulting in significantly enhanced conductivity across the overall films. Both thermoelectric devices and supercapacitors are fabricated utilizing the highly conductive 1T’ phase WS₂ nanosheet films as a working electrode, allowing for outstanding performance due to the increased conductivity of the WS₂ nanosheet films. The method constitutes a facile approach toward the use of chemically exfoliated 1T’ TMDC nanosheets for highly efficient energy device applications.