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Achieving Rich and Active Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Heterostructures via Interface Engineering on 2D 1T‐MoS 2 Quantum Sheets
Author(s) -
Chen Wenshu,
Gu Jiajun,
Du Yongping,
Song Fang,
Bu Fanxing,
Li Jinghan,
Yuan Yang,
Luo Ruichun,
Liu Qinglei,
Zhang Di
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202000551
Subject(s) - tafel equation , nanosheet , materials science , electrocatalyst , catalysis , hydrogen production , heterojunction , water splitting , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , alkali metal , optoelectronics , electrochemistry , photocatalysis , chemistry , electrode , organic chemistry , engineering
Large‐scale production of hydrogen from water‐alkali electrolyzers is impeded by the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. The hybridization of an acid‐active HER catalyst with a cocatalyst at the nanoscale helps boost HER kinetics in alkaline media. Here, it is demonstrated that 1T–MoS 2 nanosheet edges (instead of basal planes) decorated by metal hydroxides form highly activeedge1T‐MoS 2/edge Ni ( OH ) 2heterostructures, which significantly enhance HER performance in alkaline media. Featured with richedge1T‐MoS 2/edge Ni ( OH ) 2sites, the fabricated 1T–MoS 2 QS/Ni(OH) 2 hybrid (quantum sized 1T–MoS 2 sheets decorated with Ni(OH) 2 via interface engineering) only requires overpotentials of 57 and 112 mV to drive HER current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm −2 , respectively, and has a low Tafel slope of 30 mV dec −1 in 1 m KOH. So far, this is the best performance for MoS 2 ‐based electrocatalysts and the 1T–MoS 2 QS/Ni(OH) 2 hybrid is among the best‐performing non‐Pt alkaline HER electrocatalysts known. The HER process is durable for 100 h at current densities up to 500 mA cm −2 . This work not only provides an active, cost‐effective, and robust alkaline HER electrocatalyst, but also demonstrates a design strategy for preparing high‐performance catalysts based on edge‐rich 2D quantum sheets for other catalytic reactions.