Recent advances on liquid intercalation and exfoliation of transition metal dichalcogenides: From fundamentals to applications

The weak van der Waals gap endows two dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) with the potential to realize guest intercalation and host exfoliation. Intriguingly, the liquid intercalation and exfoliation is a facile, low-cost, versatile and scalable strategy to modulate the structure and physiochemical property of TMDs via introducing foreign species into interlayer. In this review, firstly, we briefly introduce the resultant hybrid superlattice and disperse nanosheets with tailored properties fabricated via liquid intercalation and exfoliation. Subsequently, we systematically analyze the intercalation phenomenon and limitations of various intercalants in chemical or electrochemical methods. Afterwards, we intensely discuss diverse functionalities of resultant materials, focusing on their potential applications in energy conversion, energy storage, water purification, electronics, thermoelectrics and superconductor. Finally, we highlight the challenges and outlooks for precise and mass production of 2D TMDs-based materials via liquid intercalation and exfoliation. This review enriches the overview of liquid intercalation and exfoliation strategy, and paves the path for relevant high-performance devices.