Facile Synthesis of Superstructured MoS₂ and Graphitic Nanocarbon Hybrid for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

The sandwich-like 2H MoS2 and unilaminar graphitic nanocarbon hybrid was synthesized via graphitizing threonic acid intercalated MoS2 precursor obtained using hydrothermal process. An excellent electrocatalytic efficiency of hydrogen evolution reaction with a remarkably small overpotential of 195 mV and a Tafel slope of 47 mV/decade is easily accessible for our hybridized catalyst in 0.5 M H2SO4 aqueous solution, much superior to that of pure 2H MoS2 and threonic acid intercalating MoS2 nanomaterials. Moreover, the detailed electrochemical activity surface area and electrochemical impedance suggest that the face-to-face stacking of unilaminar 2H MoS2 and graphitic nanocarbon at an alternating sequence accelerates the mass transport and electron transfer and, thus, enhances the efficiency for electrocatalytic water splitting. This work paves a neoteric and straightforward pathway for the fabrication of superlattice MoS2 and unilaminar graphitic nanocarbon hybrid, further improving the electrocatalytic efficiency of 2H MoS2 nanosheets via a synergistic modulation strategy.

Design Strategies for Development of TMD-Based Heterostructures in Electrochemical Energy Systems

“…37 In this regard, the advantageous heterostructure construction is iterated, focusing particularly on HER. Recently, TMDs have been of great interest and extensively investigated in various strategies of nanostructure design, 38,39 including presence of defects, 40,41 mixed metal (alloy), 42,43 heteroatom doping, 44,45 compositional effects, phase differences, 15,46 carbonmaterial-containing heterostructures, 47,48 and unique morphological characteristics. 49 Readers are also referred to Table 1 for a detailed review of performance results of HER obtained for various electrocatalysts.…”

Carbon Nanotube‐Based Non‐Precious Metal Electrode Catalysts for Fuel Cells, Water Splitting and Zinc‐Air Batteries

“…Hence, the development of efficient catalysts for the HER is vital for the practical applicability of an alkaline environment compared to the acidic environment. Though the state‐of‐the‐art catalysts, such as Pt/C, Pt−Co/C, etc., are used in commercial markets, few of the non‐precious catalysts, such as carbon supported and without carbon supports, can potentially compete with the state‐of‐the‐art catalysts. The metal chalcogen is able to support fast electrode kinetics (Tafel‐Volmer pathway).…”

Construction of hollow structure cobalt iron selenide polyhedrons for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

“…Non-noble metal catalysts for HER mainly include transition metal oxides, 10,11 carbides, [12][13][14] nitrides, [15][16][17][18] phosphides, [19][20][21][22][23][24] sulfides [25][26][27][28] and selenides [29][30][31] etc. Metal selenides with various morphological peculiarities of crystal have been proved to be a kind of promising HER catalysts.…”