The rapid electrochemical activation of MoTe2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

The electrochemical generation of hydrogen is a key enabling technology for the production of sustainable fuels. Transition metal chalcogenides show considerable promise as catalysts for this reaction, but to date there are very few reports of tellurides in this context, and none of these transition metal telluride catalysts are especially active. Here, we show that the catalytic performance of metallic 1T′-MoTe2 is improved dramatically when the electrode is held at cathodic bias. As a result, the overpotential required to maintain a current density of 10 mA cm−2 decreases from 320 mV to just 178 mV. We show that this rapid and reversible activation process has its origins in adsorption of H onto Te sites on the surface of 1T′-MoTe2. This activation process highlights the importance of subtle changes in the electronic structure of an electrode material and how these can influence the subsequent electrocatalytic activity that is displayed.

Topology conversion of 1T MoS2 to S-doped 2H-MoTe2 nanosheets with Te vacancies for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

“…The smaller band gap and semi-metallic properties make it more promising in electrocatalysis in comparison with MoS(Se) 2 [26]. For example, a reversible activation of 1T'-MoTe 2 [27] results in the decrease of overpotential from 320 to 178 mV at (FIB) patterning on chemical vapor deposition (CVD)synthesized 1T′-MoTe 2 films creates active sites for the increase of HER [3]. Bottom-up phase engineering over 1T′ MoTe 2 and 1T′/2H MoTe 2 in CVD process was also developed to control the HER activity [28].…”

Selective phase growth and precise-layer control in MoTe2

“…Since the discovery of topological superconductivity and large magnetoresistance in this compound it has been the subject of comprehensive fundamental research [11][12][13][14] . In addition, 1T′-MoTe 2 has been highlighted as an emerging energy material with applications ranging from photovoltaic cells to hydrogen evolution catalysis [15][16][17] . Furthermore, few-layered 1T′-MoTe 2 may become a promising sensing platform enabled through its ability to suppress fluorescence signals which often prevents reliable detection of Raman scattering from negligible traces of molecules 18 .…”

The Synergistic Effects of Alloying on the Performance and Stability of Co3Mo and Co7Mo6 for the Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

“…Therefore, we used values of double-layer capacitance (C DL ) for the comparison of the relative surface areas between the two alloys. C DL has been deemed to be proportional to roughness factor and therefore is routinely used as an approximation for the electrochemical surface area of a sample in the absence of direct physical data [36][37][38]. The C DL values were evaluated at a constant potential from the difference of current densities with the scan rate (Figure 4a).…”