One-pot hydrothermal approach towards 2D/2D heterostructure based on 1 T MoS2 chemically bonding with GO for extremely high electrocatalytic performance

Publication Name

Chemical Engineering Journal

Abstract

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has become a promising low-cost alternative to Pt catalyst for electrochemical Hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). However, the poor conductivity and limited active sites of thermodynamically stable 2H-Phase MoS2 hinder its catalytic performance. Utilizing phase engineering to convert 2H MoS2 to metallic 1 T MoS2 is an effective strategy to improve the catalytic activity of MoS2. The commonly used synthetic and phase engineering methods such as electrochemical exfoliation involve using a complicated synthesis route or under strict experimental conditions or both. Herein, we develop a one-pot hydrothermal method to in-situ synthesize a 2D (1 T MoS2)/2D (GO) heterostructure with a face-to-face contact between the ultrathin MoS2 (few layers) and Graphene oxide (GO). The content of 1 T MoS2 in the prepared 1 T MoS2/GO reaches as high as 76.7%. When used as a catalyst, 1 T MoS2/GO exhibited an outstanding HER performance, with a small overpotential of 209 mV at a cathode current density of 10 mA cm−2, and an extremely low Tafel slope of 45.5 mV Dec−1, which is very close to that of Pt/C (40.0 mV Dec−1). Moreover, it demonstrated an excellent stability after a storage of 212 days in air. The high electrocatalytic performance could be attributed to the high 1 T-phase content in the MoS2, as the 1 T phase provides numerous active sites and improves the electronic conductivity of the catalyst. Strong interactions between 1 T MoS2 and GO substrate stabilizes the structure of the 1 T MoS2 and allows rapid charge transfer kinetics. This work proposes a facile and effective strategy for the design and synthesis of transition metal chalcogenides with high HER performance.

Open Access Status

This publication is not available as open access

Volume

428

Article Number

132072

Funding Number

6141A02022264

Funding Sponsor

National Natural Science Foundation of China

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.132072