Figure 4: Phase transition process of metal intercalation.

(a) XPS S2p spectra showing the evolution from 2H (bulk MoS2) to 1T′ (LixMoS2) to 2H (Pt-MoS2); (b) XPS Pt4f spectrum validating the zero-valent state of intercalated metals; (c) k2-weighted Mo K-edge EXAFS spectra of Pt–MoS2 in comparison to Mo foil, bulk MoS2 and LixMoS2; and (d) XRD patterns showing the fcc structure of intercalated Pt nanoparticles.