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Preparation of High‐Percentage 1T‐Phase Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Nanodots for Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution
Author(s) -
Tan Chaoliang,
Luo Zhimin,
Chaturvedi Apoorva,
Cai Yongqing,
Du Yonghua,
Gong Yue,
Huang Ying,
Lai Zhuangchai,
Zhang Xiao,
Zheng Lirong,
Qi Xiaoying,
Goh Min Hao,
Wang Jie,
Han Shikui,
Wu XueJun,
Gu Lin,
Kloc Christian,
Zhang Hua
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201705509
Subject(s) - tafel equation , overpotential , materials science , nanodot , electrocatalyst , chemical engineering , water splitting , catalysis , transition metal , nanotechnology , electrochemistry , photocatalysis , chemistry , biochemistry , electrode , engineering
Nanostructured transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are proven to be efficient and robust earth‐abundant electrocatalysts to potentially replace precious platinum‐based catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the catalytic efficiency of reported TMD catalysts is still limited by their low‐density active sites, low conductivity, and/or uncleaned surface. Herein, a general and facile method is reported for high‐yield, large‐scale production of water‐dispersed, ultrasmall‐sized, high‐percentage 1T‐phase, single‐layer TMD nanodots with high‐density active edge sites and clean surface, including MoS 2 , WS 2 , MoSe 2 , Mo 0.5 W 0.5 S 2 , and MoSSe, which exhibit much enhanced electrochemical HER performances as compared to their corresponding nanosheets. Impressively, the obtained MoSSe nanodots achieve a low overpotential of −140 mV at current density of 10 mA cm −2 , a Tafel slope of 40 mV dec −1 , and excellent long‐term durability. The experimental and theoretical results suggest that the excellent catalytic activity of MoSSe nanodots is attributed to the high‐density active edge sites, high‐percentage metallic 1T phase, alloying effect and basal‐plane Se‐vacancy. This work provides a universal and effective way toward the synthesis of TMD nanostructures with abundant active sites for electrocatalysis, which can also be used for other applications such as batteries, sensors, and bioimaging.