MoSe₂nanosheets and their graphene hybrids: synthesis, characterization and hydrogen evolution reaction studies

Abstract

MoSe 2 nanosheets and MoSe 2 /graphene hybrids have been prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. The number of layers of the MoSe 2 nanosheets is typically <10 as confirmed directly by transmission electron microscopy and indirectly by a red shift of the characteristic A 1g Raman peak. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) studies show that the onset potentials of MoSe 2 and MoSe 2 /RGO hybrids are only $0.15 V vs. RHE and $0.05 V vs. RHE, respectively, about 20-30 mV lower than those of MoS 2 and its graphene hybrids reported previously. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Gibbs free energy for atomic hydrogen adsorption (DG 0 H ) on MoSe 2 edges is closer to thermoneutral than that on MoS 2 , with an H coverage of about 75% on the edge under operating conditions, which is also higher than that of MoS 2 reported in the literature. The consistency between the experimental and computational results indicates that MoSe 2 nanosheets have potential to be a better HER catalyst than their MoS 2 counterpart.

Effect of Polymer Addition on the Structure and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Property of Nanoflower-Like Molybdenum Disulfide

“…The suitability of MoS2 as an excellent catalyst for HER, is mainly due to the catalytic activity at the edge of this lamellar crystal [7,12,13]. It has been proved by theoretical and experimental studies that the active sites of 2H-MoS2 for HER locate the (010) and (100) planes with the existence of unsaturated molybdenum and sulfur atoms, while the (002) basal plane is inactive [7,12,14].…”

“…Up to date, it has been difficult to push the industrial applications of them because of the poor activities in HER or high costs. Compared with the above-mentioned materials, chalcogenides [7][8][9], particularly, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), possess the merits of acceptable cost, acidic stability, easy fabrication, and a higher electrocatalytic property [10,11]. The suitability of MoS2 as an excellent catalyst for HER, is mainly due to the catalytic activity at the edge of this lamellar crystal [7,12,13].…”

“…Compared with the above-mentioned materials, chalcogenides [7][8][9], particularly, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), possess the merits of acceptable cost, acidic stability, easy fabrication, and a higher electrocatalytic property [10,11]. The suitability of MoS2 as an excellent catalyst for HER, is mainly due to the catalytic activity at the edge of this lamellar crystal [7,12,13]. It has been proved by theoretical and experimental studies that the active sites of 2H-MoS2 for HER locate the (010) and (100) planes with the existence of unsaturated molybdenum and sulfur atoms, while the (002) basal plane is inactive [7,12,14].…”

First-principles study of two-dimensional van der Waals heterojunctions

“…Up to now, significant experimental and theoretical efforts have been made to characterize and explore new structures, properties and applications of 2D van der Waals heterojunctions, especially graphene based heterojunctions, such as graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (G/h-BN) [54][55][56][57][58], graphene/silicene (G/S) [59][60][61], graphene/phosphorene (G/P) [62][63][64], graphene/graphitic carbon nitride (G/g-C 3 N 4 ) [65][66][67], graphene/graphitic zinc oxide (G/g-ZnO) [68][69][70], graphene/molybdenum disulphide (G/MoS 2 ) [71][72][73][74][75], graphene/molybdenum disulfide (G/MoSe 2 ) [76][77][78], silicene/hexagonal boron nitride (S/h-BN) [79][80][81], silicene/molybdenum disulphide (S/MoS 2 ) [82][83][84], and TMDCs based heterojunctions [85][86][87]. These van der Waals heterojunctions show much more new properties far beyond their single components.…”

Novel Ni3S2@NiOOH hybrid nanostructure supported on Ni foam as high-efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

“…Hydrogen has been considered as the most promising substitute for the traditional fossil fuels due to its high energy density and environmental friendliness [1][2][3]. However, the key problem is how to produce hydrogen massively and cheaply.…”